Of Gods and Magic
by SpawnofAnarion
Summary: Nico stumbles upon the world of magic, and is sent by the gods to investigate Hogwarts. Can Nico survive the year of Slughorn in a school hostile to death and shadow magic? Maybe with the help of an odd girl named Luna and her friends. Has Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, and primarily Nico/Luna. Pre Giant war, post Titan war. I own nothing. May contain somewhat graphic violence.
1. Nico's discovery

The world was gloomy and he sky was dark, no moon shining through the clouds. Rain poured down from the sky as if it was leaking from a thousand arrow wounds, and lightning flashed regularly, illuminating the scene below.

A dark forest of upright stones in even rows stood starkly out from the damp ground they were set in, sheltered from some of the storm by crooked trees that were placed almost randomly throughout the graveyard.

A flash of lightning briefly illuminated two figures. One of them was a huge, shadowy creature, it's outline vaguely draconic. The other was a dark boy, whose pale skin contrasted vastly with the shadows around him. In his hands was a sword. While the silver of its handle reflected through the darkness, the blade could only be made out because it seemed even darker than the night.

Nico was panting with exhaustion. He'd been fighting the monster for hours, and the thing just refused to die. Even worse, Nico had started out as the hunter and become the hunted. If he couldn't get to the mausoleum in time… he didn't want to think about it.

It was closer now. He could feel the monster approaching from behind, and his strength was on the verge of giving out. Suddenly, out of the darkness, the torches of the mausoleum appeared, and Nico tapped into his last reserves of strength and sprinted to the doorway.

Just beyond the torchlight, the monster skidded to a halt. Nico turned back, brushing water and his raven hair out of his eyes, and drew his sword. Even with his jet-black t-shirt, jeans, and aviator jacket sopping wet, the 15-year old looked intimidating, even imposing. His brown eyes locked on the monster.

Suddenly Nico thrust his sword into the ground, and the green light of the torches flared. The monster froze, caught in the magical torchlight, and its horrible form was revealed. It looked like a Chinese dragon that had been rotting for a century with giant blood red fangs.

Fissures began to branch out from the soul sucking black blade, opening wider as they went and stretching out to the dragon like open arms.

"Maurig, son of Tar the black dragon, I banish you back to Tartarus!" Nico exclaimed, as flaming skeletal hands reached up from the fissures and wrapped around the beast. The monster tried to roar, but it was cut off as it was yanked down under the surface.

Nico collapsed to the ground with the effort. The power of the mausoleum had bolstered his strength enough for that last banishing, but he was thoroughly used up, and after thanking the gods for letting him make it in time, he promptly collapsed.

When he awoke, he saw a troubling sight.

Three men were force-marching a man along the graveyard path. They were covered in black cloaks and had skull masks. 'Probably some cult.' Nico thought.

The other man was wearing some strange robes.

They stopped in front of an open grave. Nico crept closer, silent in the shadows, but he didn't need to. He could hear them talking from where he was, although it sounded a little like he was listening through a window.

One of the dark-clothed men, probably the leader, had been talking.

"…and don't bother yelling for help, Ellisen, we've put a silence charm over the area." The man leaned in towards the other man's face. "Now then, mudblood," The man said with a sneer in his voice, "Where are they?"

The man was quaking with fear. He responded, "I…I…" he swallowed, and his voice came out weakly, "I d-don't k-know anything." Which anyone could tell was a lie.

The other man sneered. "Gilroy, Rozlen, grab his arms."

The scared man tried to cower out of their grasp, but the two men were much stronger than him and held him fast. The leader of the group stood close to the unfortunate man, Ellisen, and pulled out a short stick, putting it to his throat. Ellison's eyes darted everywhere, his panic extremely evident.

"No… please…" The poor man croaked.

The leader of the group began to talk again, impatience showing through his calm demeanor.

"Where are they, Ellison? Where are the passcodes to the ministry that our master sent us to retrieve? Do you need more convincing? _Crucio!_" The man exclaimed the last part loudly, and Ellison shrieked in unearthly pain. Nico could see his aura visibly flicker. After a few seconds the man stopped and Ellisen slumped.

"Again?" One of the two men holding Ellison asked.

"No!" Ellisen sobbed. "No more, please, no more! The passcodes…" Ellison faltered for a moment, then let his head droop. "The passcodes are in t-the ministers house."

The leader leaned back. "Thank you. Now, here's your reward." The man pointed the stick at Ellisen's terrified face.

Nico had heard enough.

"Hey, skull face!" Nico yelled.

The four men looked at him.

They saw a scraggly, teenage mortal boy standing at the other end of the clearing.

Ellisen saw a ray of hope. "Help! Help me, Ple-" "_Avada kedavra!" _A green light shot from the leader's stick, which Nico supposed would be called a wand, seeing as this man was doing magic with it, and it hit Ellisen. Nico saw Thanatos suddenly appear behind the man and take his soul away, and the man fell dead.

This shocked and angered him quite a bit.

"You…" Nico was at a loss for words.

The man turned back to him and laughed. "Who're you, boy?"

Nico didn't respond.

"Then die." The man said, and pointed his wand at Nico.

Nico drew his sword, and the sunlight in the clearing seemed to dim. The wizards, for that was what Nico thought they'd be called, faltered. The other two drew their wands.

Nico flipped his sword upside-down and thrust it into the ground. Four fissures spread out from where it set into the ground, and skeletal hands reached up from the depths and hoisted themselves into the world, heeding the call of the son of Hades.

Nico looked up at the terrified wizards and spoke coldly.

"Today I send you to Tartarus."

After the screaming wizards had been dragged into the underworld, their spells proving useless against the dead, Nico gave a blessing to the poor coward who had been murdered and disappeared into the nearest shadow.


	2. The Gods' Decision

The court of Zeus was in turmoil. The revelation of an entire race of magical mortals shocked and disturbed them. The fact that they even existed catapulted Hecate into a position of much higher power in the eyes of the gods, and the fact that she had kept them hidden angered many in the council. Ares argued that they should wipe out the lot of them, while Athena preached caution, as they didn't know how powerful they were. Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo and Poseidon were in favor of Ares's proposal, while Hades, Demeter, Hephaestus and Aphrodite Were in favor of Athena's proposal. Zeus couldn't decide either way, so the gods just kept arguing until, finally, the gods reached a compromise, also proposed by Athena, to send an undercover representative to infiltrate their society. The only arguing point was which demigod should be sent.

"I vote that we send my daughter, Annabeth. She would fit in well, being highly intelligent, and she has a cap that would make her invisible. She is the best choice." Said Athena.

"She's too old, we need a young demigod of sufficient power to infiltrate their society. Hecate tells us that they come of age at seventeen." Said Hermes.

They all thought for a moment.

Then Hades stood.

"May I make a suggestion?" When no one interrupted, he continued. "My own son, Nico, started this quest. He is only 15, and extremely powerful for his age. Would he not be the perfect choice?"

The council of gods made noises of grudging agreement.

Hades turned to Zeus. "Brother, may we assign this quest to Nico?"

Zeus paused for a moment, thinking, then gave in. "I suppose he is the best choice. Very well."

Zeus rose. "All in favor?" The gods all raised their hands. "Alright, then."

* * *

Nico was waiting in the throne room of Hades' palace. He'd cleaned up a bit, but for the most part his clothes were still ragged. He was anxiously awaiting Hades return from the meeting with the council.

Suddenly, Hades appeared in a burst of shadow on his throne. Nico kneeled before him.

Hades began to speak. "Nico, I have a quest for you, a very interesting quest."

Nico looked up. "My lord?"

"The council found your discovery of mortals with magical powers very… disturbing. They need someone to infiltrate their society." Hades leaned closer. "This is your task, Nico. There is a school they have to teach magicians. You will attend this school and learn about their society, and if they are a threat to the gods you are to put down their leaders and inform the gods."

Nico had turned, if possible, paler. "Father… why does it have to be me? I'm not exactly the, um, well, social type. I don't think that I can really infiltrate a society."

Hades expression turned harsh. "I don't care what you think. You will do this. If your sister were still alive I'd send her. She would've done much better."

Nico flinched, but through clenched teeth he said, "Yes, father." Nico stood.

Suddenly, Hecate appeared beside him, making Nico jump with alarm.

"Hello there!" Hecate said to Nico. She wore a traditional white Greek style dress, and her brown hair flowed down to her waist full of magical bracelets and beads.

"Wow," She said, "You are really cute." She pinched Nico's cheek. "Still," she continued, "You're clothes won't exactly encourage friendship with the kinds of people you'll want to befriend." Nico looked very uncomfortable.

Hades stood from his throne. "Hecate, if you will." He said, giving Hecate an impatient look.

"Oh, of course." Hecate exclaimed. Then she turned to Nico. She drew back her hand, and before Nico could even move, smacked him in the face, hard enough to send Nico to the floor.

"What was that for?" Nico said, massaging his face.

Hecate frowned. "I just gave you magical powers stronger than almost all wizards."

Hades and Nico looked at her questioningly.

"How did you think I'd do it? Wave my magic wand?" Hecate waved her hand and a magic wand appeared. "Oh." Hecate said. "I guess I could've done it that way. Never mind. Anyways," Hecate continued, "Here's a wand for you." She reached into a satchel she had on her belt and pulled out a wand.

Hecate handed Nico the wand. It was made of wood from the trees of Asphodel, reinforced with stygian iron, and etched with beautiful swirling patterns covering the length in gold and silver, altogether beautiful and deadly.

Nico held it and studied it with fascination. As his hand touched the handle, gold and silver sparks shot out of the end of it.

Hecate looked over his shoulder. "A unique wand, you know. I used my own hair for its power base." She eyed him sternly. "Don't you lose that, now. Thanatos, who kept my secret quite faithfully, once gave away a wand with one of his hairs in it to an idiot wizard, and now it's been wreaking havoc for a couple of centuries. God hair wands are very powerful things."

Hecate turned to Hades. "Before I go, I just want to thank you for keeping my secret for all these years. I really do appreciate it." She gave him a warm smile.

Hades looked uncomfortable. "You're, um, welcome." His expression turned annoyed. "Still, you do owe me a lot for that 'Voldemort' incident. I only finished the paperwork on that yesterday."

Hecate smiled nervously. "Hades… about that."

Hades glared at Hecate with disbelief. "No. You wouldn't do this to me." Hecate wouldn't meet his eyes. Hades frown of disbelief slowly became one of outrage. "You told me he had turned into a shade, that it was impossible for him to return!"

Hecate shifted nervously. "Well… I may have been a teensy bit wrong about that. He appears to be back, and he has an army again."

Hades looked like he was about to explode. With words laced with rage, he said, "Those… numbskull mortals… who believe… they can eat death… are going on another rampage? Do you know how many years that paperwork will set me back?"

The room was silent.

"I think I'll just leave now." Hecate said. "Here are the other things you'll need." Hecate motioned and a large polished black trunk with gold inlay appeared. "Bye!" She gave Nico a quick (and for him awkward) hug and disappeared with a pop.

After a few moments, Hades slumped back into his throne and sulked. Nico glared at him.

"You knew about these people before I found them, and you didn't tell me?" Nico asked accusingly.

"That doesn't matter now." Hades replied, and then summoned up a map of London. "Just get going. Shadow travel to this location at 9:45 and Thanatos will meet up with you there and brief you on your cover story." Hades gaze locked with Nico's. "Don't fail me, son."

* * *

Later that evening, Dumbledore was in his study, trying to think of other possible horcrux locations, when there was a knock on his window.

Standing up from his desk, Dumbledore went over to his window to find a very large eagle sitting on the sill with a scroll tied to its leg. Perplexed, he opened up the window.

The eagle hopped in and thrust out its leg. Dumbledore, becoming very curious, reached over and retrieved the note. When he opened it up, it read like this:

* * *

_Dear headmaster Dumbledore,_

_I am Chiron, activities master and teacher at the academy of Olympus in New York, USA. We know that you've never heard of us before, the same is true of us. We're sending one of our students to your school to observe your magical techniques, an exchange student of sorts. His name is Nico di Angelo. With your permission, we would have him stay for one year, and bring our two schools closer together._

_Sincerely, _

_Chiron_

* * *

Dumbledore sat back in wonder. How odd, it seemed, that there was another wizarding school, in America of all places. Dumbledore considered the possibilities.

If there wasn't actually another school, it could be just a student prank, or a death eater's attempt to infiltrate Hogwarts. Still, both of those were unlikely. Snape had already told him Voldemort's plan to assassinate him, and the only people who could dream up a prank like this would be Fred and George, and he doubted that they would be unwise enough to try and prank him.

Dumbledore gave a mental shrug. If an American showed up on the Hogwarts Express, there was no harm in him staying.

The Eagle still held out his arm expectantly, so Dumbledore sent a reply back agreeing to their terms.

As he watched the eagle fly off, Dumbledore decided it was going to be an interesting year.


	3. Nico takes the A train

Nico staggered out of the shadows into a strange train station. It was packed full of people, and everyone was weird. They wore strange combinations of mortal clothes and robes like Ellisen had worn. Some had trunks, like he did. Some had cats or toads, even owls in cages. It looked like everyone from magic society was there, from the rich and finely dressed to the shabby and poorer, with a huge variety of hair, skin and eye colors. In the center of the station was a red train, with the words 'Hogwarts Express' plastered across it. There was so much to take in that Nico just stood there for a few seconds, dumbfounded.

A cold hand closed on Nico's shoulder. "My lord."

"Hello, Thanatos." Nico responded as he turned to face him.

Thanatos had opted to dress in his black cloak and hood to hide his extraordinary features, specifically his wings. Hecate had informed Thanatos that while wizards were used to a lot of weird things, large, extremely attractive gods with wings weren't one of them.

Thanatos began to brief Nico. "Alright, so you are a foreign exchange student from The Academy of Olympus in New York. You have come here to learn the magical techniques that they use to teach students at Hogwarts. Under no circumstances are you to inform anyone of your identity or your true mission, determining the stability and combat abilities of the wizarding world. Got it?"

After Nico had repeated the instructions, Thanatos smiled a little. "Good. That was a mouthful to remember, I can tell you." Thanatos said, as they began to walk towards the train. "So, Nico, how've you been? Kill anyone lately?"

"You mean besides those weird skull mask cultists? Um… there was that one creepy serial killer with the bongo." Nico responded.

"Oh yeah, I hated that guy." Thanatos's expression turned darker for a moment, then lightened up. "Well, he's burning in Hades now, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

They walked in silence for a moment. The crowd was parting for them fairly easily, mostly because of the tall grim reaper-like figure.

Whispering, Nico began to talk again. "Hey, Thanatos."

Thanatos responded quietly, so they could maintain privacy. "What?"

"The other day, one of those cultists cast some spell-thing and summoned you."

Thanatos's expression darkened. "Ah, yes. You see, Hecate did a favor for me once, and to repay her I taught her the words that would summon me whenever she needed me. Unfortunately, she decided to teach it to her most trusted mortal lieutenant. That Wizard altered the words of the spell, so that instead of appearing to protect the caster, a small part of me is sent to take the soul of the target. Hecate was horrified by this abomination, and is now my devoted friend and ally because of it, but only because I defended her to Hades."

Thanatos stopped talking for a moment and shivered. "The only thing that made Hades angrier than the invention of that spell was Nagasaki."

Nico could imagine, having been sent to work on the 100ft high pile of admittance sheets for Nuke victims when he accidentally stabbed hades in the foot with a 10ft long pair of scissors (long story).

When they finally got to the train, Nico said goodbye to Thanatos and hoisted his trunk up into the train car. As before he went in, Thanatos put his hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Good luck and stay safe." He said. "I don't want to see you the hard way." He flashed him a smile.

Thanatos waited until the train had pulled out of the station, then walked into a patch of shadows and disappeared.

As Nico walked down the length of the train car he felt as everyone in the compartments he passed were staring at him. He pressed on, looking for a cabin with an open seat for a while, until eventually he found one.

"Hi Neville. Hi Luna. Guess what?" Ron said, turning to Harry. "Malfoy's not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins. We saw him when we passed.

Harry sat up strait, interested. It wasn't like Malfoy to pass up the chance to demonstrate his power as a prefect, which he had happily abused all the previous year. Harry was about to ask what Malfoy had done when he'd seen Ron when there was a knock on the cabin door.

Everyone looked at the figure beyond the door. Harry saw a slender, pale boy around his age, with raven colored hair and brown eyes. He was dressed mostly in black, with a brown coat and combat boots that went up to his ankles.

"Can I sit in here?" The boy asked, his words tinted with an American accent and something a bit more… exotic.

"Yes." Harry replied, curiously. He'd never seen this boy before, but he looked like he was around Harry's age, so Harry didn't think he could be a first year.

Nico slid back the door and went to walk into the room when he saw almost everyone in the room staring openmouthed at his midriff. Nico froze.

"What?" He asked, and then looked down.

His sword, Deathknell, was strapped to his waist. He'd forgotten to take it off.

Nico looked back at the people in the room. A boy with flaming red hair had his eyes and mouth wide open in a dumbfounded expression and was stuttering, "T-t-tha-a's a s-s-s…"

A gangly looking boy with glasses, black hair and a peculiar, lightning shaped scar on his forehead wore a confused expression.

A rather chubby-er boy with close-cropped black hair had an expression of pure terror on his face.

A girl with a mess of brown hair was eying him suspiciously.

The last occupant of the cabin was a girl with long, dirty blond hair in a braid. She was wearing what looked like a strange pair of 3-d glasses and an odd necklace of bottle corks. She was smiling at him with a sort of dreamy looking expression on her face, which Nico found especially odd. Everyone else here seemed to find him terrifying.

"Hi." Nico said.

"Hello there." Luna replied.

No one else responded.

After an awkward moment of silence, Luna spoke again.

"I don't know why they're being so rude. These are my friends, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville." Luna said in her characteristically dreamy voice. "My name's Luna. What's yours?"

Nico, feeling a little awkward from the stares of the other people in the cabin, responded. "Nico. Nico di Angelo."

Nico was glad that the open seat was next to Luna as he sat down. Neville, on his other side, was still quaking in fear.

Ron finally found his voice. "That… that's a sword!"

Nico shot a 'no duh' look his way. "Yes."

Hermione spoke up. "Why do you have a word, exactly? Muggle weapons are prohibited."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Muggle weapons? What's a muggle?"

Almost everyone in the cabin stared at Nico again.

"People without magical powers." Hermione said patronizingly.

"Oh, you mean mortals. At least that's we call them." Nico responded.

"Mortals?" Ron said in disgust. "You say that like you aren't mortal."

Nico glared at Ron. These people were beginning to annoy him. "The point is, this is no 'muggle' weapon, as you call it. No," Nico continued, putting his hand to the hilt. "This isn't just any sword."

Nico drew Deathknell with a ring, and the light of the room seemed to fade, a little bit. Deathknell's blade, beautiful and dark, radiated power, and the ruby in the mouth of the skull on the silver hilt glowed with unearthly light.

Nico was extremely satisfied with the look of shock on Hermione's face.

"Any more questions?" Nico asked.

"Did you know that there's a wrackspurt hovering over your head?" Luna asked.

"What?" Nico looked up and saw a weird little fairy like creature with wings diving towards his head.

"Holy Zeus!" Nico stood up quickly. He nearly skewered Ron on his way up, who yelped as the point passed an inch in front of his face. Nico quickly sheathed his sword and swiped at the thing.

Ron stood up, rage on his face. "What're you playing at!" He Shouted.

Harry and Hermione stood too. "Stop making fun of her, you git!" Harry yelled.

Nico, still trying to swat the thing out of the air, was confused. "What? I'm trying to get this stupid thing away from me." Nico exclaimed.

"There's nothing there! We all know that there's nothing there, stop mocking Luna!" Hermione exclaimed.

Nico stopped, realization dawning on him. "Oh… you're… and she's… gods, I'm dense." Nico muttered. He'd forgotten that they were mortals. Luna was one of them that could see through the mist.

"They can't see it, you know." Luna said.

"I got that now. All right, everyone just… calm down." Nico said, trying to make peace.

Nico walked over to Luna and sat down next to her. Luna smiled at him. "Want a quibbler?" Luna offered Nico a magazine.

Nico took it without saying a word, and began to read quite intently.

Everyone else stood awkwardly. After a few seconds they sat back down. A breathless third year came to the door. "I'm supposed to deliver these to a Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, and a… Nico dee Angeelo?" She said, horribly mispronouncing Nico's name. She was holding out three scrolls bound with scarlet ribbon. Perplexed, they all took their respective scrolls.

As the girl left the room, Ron demanded, "What is it?"

"It's an Invitation." Harry responded.

Nico opened his.

* * *

_Dear Nico,_

_I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of_

_lunch in compartment C._

_Sincerely, Professor H.E.F. Slughorn_

"Who's Slughorn?" Nico asked.

"New teacher." Said Harry. "Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?"

* * *

When the three of them reached compartment C, they found out that they weren't the only ones invited to Slughorn's party. Nico's eyes darted around the room and found four other people sitting in the car. There was a semi handsome but conceited looking boy with ebony skin, a pale, nervous looking boy, a muscular boy that smiled in such a way that it made Nico wish for a reason to punch him in the face, and a fiery haired girl, who looked like she might be related to Ron.

Nico found out that Slughorn was a really massive man resembling a walrus. He was greeting each of them in turn, and appeared to be particularly interested in Harry. Nico soon found out why he had been invited to the party. Slughorn appeared to be trying to gather together and befriend students with connections, that he thought might be 'special', and he wasn't sure whether Nico was 'special' or not. He could practically see greed radiating off the man's aura, although at heart he was not a bad man.

When he got around to greeting Nico, he looked at his clothes with distaste for a moment before smiling knowingly at his face. "You must be Nico, our American exchange student. Tell me, do you know anyone else here?"

Nico jabbed a finger at Harry and Neville. "I was sitting in their car." He said, flatly.

"Ah, a very smart choice, sitting with Harry Potter." Slughorn beamed at Harry.

"Anyways, please sit, and I'll introduce everyone." Harry, Neville and Nico all sat down.

"So, this," Slughorn pointed to the conceited looking boy," is Blaise Zabini. Tell me, how is your mother? Still beautiful as always?"

The boy smirked. "She's on her eighth husband."

Slughorn turned to the nervous looking boy. "This is Barnby. Say, have you seen much of your uncle lately? The one that invented the Wolfsbane potion?"

Poor Barnby was in the middle of eating a pheasant breast and choked while he was trying to answer. Nico stood up in alarm, but Slughorn just pulled out his wand, said _Anapneo_, and Barnby stopped choking. Nico sat back down.

Barnby nervously answered. "N-no, sir, we don't see much of him, sir. My dad ain't on good terms with him, you see…"

Slughorn smiled at him coldly, and Barnby stopped. I knew that Slughorn wasn't interested in this boy anymore, just becayse he and his uncle weren't on good terms, and my dislke for the man instantly shot up.

"Cormac," Slughorn continued, turning to the jock-like boy. "I know for a fact that you and your uncle Tiberius go hunting together regularly."

"Yes, sir. Actually, we're going hunting with the minister over Christmas." Cormac said. This, apparently, kept him in Slughorn's favor.

"Ah, Neville." Slughorn said. "How are your excellent parents?"

Neville paled and wore an expression that I recognized immediately. I had felt it on my face when I'd learned that my mother had died.

"Uh…w-well…" Neville began, at loss for words. "They… kind of got, um, tortured by… B-bellatrix L-lestrange d-d-during-"

Slughorn held up a hand, sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry, my boy."

He turned to the red haired girl. "Ah, miss Weasley. Did you know," Slughorn faced the rest of us, "that I caught this girl doing the most marvelous bat-bogey hex? Simpley astounding." Slughorn's voice grew a tone of seriousness. "I advise none of you get on her bad side."

Finally, he turned to Harry. "Now," Slughorn said, "I'm certain that you all know who this is. Harry Potter. Where to begin? I feel I barely scratched the surface when we met over the summer." He paused for a moment and looked at harry like he was a particularly large chunk of gold. "'The Chosen one' they're calling you now."

Nico suddenly became more interested in the conversation.

"Of course," Slughorn continued slowly, "there have been rumors or years…. I remember when –well-after that terrible night-Lily-James-and you survived-and the word was that you must have powers beyond the ordinary-"

Nico wasn't able to understand a single thing the man was talking about.

Zabini gave a little cough that he probably anted to be interpreted as skepticism. Suddenly, Ginny spoke up angrily.

"Yeah, Zabini, because you're so talented… at posing…"

"Oh dear!" Slughorn chuckled. Ginny was still glaring at Zabini from around Slughorn. Zabini glared back with contempt.

"Anyway," Slughorn continued, "Such rumors this course, one doesn't know what to believe, the prophet has been known to print innacuracies, make mistakes- but there seems little doubt, given the number of witnesses, that there was quite a disturbance at the ministry, and you were in the center of the action!"

Now Nico truly had no bearing on the conversation.

Harry didn't answer Slughorn, and he continued to drone on until Nico heard him mention a prophecy.

"Prophecy? You have an oracle?" Nico asked.

Everyone looked at him.

Slughorn was suddenly interested in Nico. "Oracle? What do you mean by an oracle?"

Nico cursed inwardly. He couldn't afford to give away his identity before he even got to the school.

Everyone was still looking at him, but Nico returned their stares with a 'son of Hades' death stare, and they backed off. Slughorn went on to talk about Harry and other wizards he'd known for awhile, and Nico was about to fall asleep when he heard Slughorn say "And now for our last guest, Mr. Nico di Angelo."

Nico looked up sharply to see Slughorn looking at him curiously.

"So, Nico, what does your father do in America?" Slughorn asked.

Nico had to think desperately for a moment, but an idea quickly shot into his head. "He runs the bank."

Slughorn looked less curious. "A muggle bank?" He said.

"Well," Nico said, "some of those, too, but I meant the magic bank, He controls most of the banking systems, and the Wizard prison."

Take out 'Magic', 'wizard' and 'some of' and that sentence was completely true.

Everyone around the table looked shocked. Ginny eyed him suspiciously. Slughorn looked like Christmas had come early. "Really? The bank and the prison? Your father must be incredibly influential." Slughorn said. Then, looking at Nico again, his smile wavered.

"Are you on good terms with him?" Slughorn asked, hopefully.

Nico thought for a second. "Fairly. He's not exactly the friendly type, but he hasn't disowned me, if that's what you mean. I spend a lot of my time tracking down and capturing criminals and escaped prisoners for him."

Slughorn paled. "He… he sends his own son to capture dangerous criminals?"

Nico shrugged. "It's what I do."

Slughorn quickly switched the conversation topic, but Nico could tell that Slughorn was still burning with curiosity about him.

The rest of the night was spent with Slughorn reminiscing about old students, which was quite boring. Eventually, Slughorn dismissed them. As Nico stood up, Slugorn made an alarmed noise.

"MERLINS BEARD, DI ANGELO, IS THAT A SWORD?" Slughorn cried.

Nico turned back and saw everyone staring at him again. Sighing, Nico said, "Why is everyone so alarmed by the sword? It's a sword. Does it really matter that I have one?"

Slughorn spluttered. "B-but… muggle weapons are prohibited on school grounds. How did you even come by such a thing?"

Nico, annoyed beyond belief, stormed out.

Nico waited for Neville and Harry to leave, and they began heading back to their cabin with Ginny accompanying them, casting suspicious glances over at Nico. Harry was talking to Ginny, and Nico was bored, until suddenly Harry turned invisible. Nico was startled, but he could still see Harry's aura faintly, under what looked like a layer of death.

Nico turned to Ginny. "Um… why is Harry invisible?" He asked.

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "None of your business, Pureblood." She replied, and walked away.

"Um, I'm a halfblood." He said after her, but she didn't respond.

Shrugging, Nico returned to his cabin. Ron had left to go on patrol duty and Harry was gone, but Hermione, Luna, and Neville were still there.

Luna looked up from her Quibbler and smiled dreamily. "Hello, Nico. Had any wrackspurt problems lately?" She asked.

Nico gave her a small smile. "No, not since that last one. Can I sit there?" Nico nodded towards the spot next to her.

Luna bobbed her head affirmatively, so Nico walked over and sat down next to her. He noticed that her eyes were gray, and they were shaped in a way that made her look like she was always surprised.

"D'you want your Quibbler back? You left it here when you left." She said, holding out the copy.

"Sure." Nico replied, taking it gently from her hands.

Nico began to read an interesting article on a monsterous creature called a crumple horned snorkack.

"How have I not heard about a 'Crumple horned snorkack?" Nico asked, and read on for a while before realizing that Luna was staring at him. Nico looked over at her and saw that she had a surprised smile on her face.

"You know how to read ancient greek? That's nice." Luna said.

"What?" Nico said, and then looked down at the page he'd been reading. It was in ancient greek, and he hadn't even noticed.

"Uh… well, they taught it at my old school." Nico flustered.

Hermione and Neville were staring at him, although Luna had gone back to reading her magazine.

Hermione was very curious. She'd never known anyone who could speak ancient greek, not even her history of magic professor, but Nico spoke it, and also had a strange sword…

Hermione just had to find out about Nico's school.

"What, exactly, did they teach you at this old school of yours?" Hermione inquired.

Nico was really getting annoyed by all of her questions.

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Nico said.

Hermione made an annoyed expression.

Nico went back to his quibbler.

After a few minutes, the train ground to a halt. They'd arrived.


	4. Nico vs Hogwarts security

Nico and the others stood up, grabbing their things and beginning to file out of the cabin. On her way out, Hermione frowned.

"Where's Harry?" She asked, to no one in particular.

Ron came huffing down the hallway and pushed his way through the door to grab his trunk.

"Sorry, some idiot first year set off a dung bomb and I got held up." Ron said breathlessly. He paused. "Hey, where's Harry?"

"He popped on his invisibility cloak on the way back." Said Neville.

Hermione sighed. "Well, I guess we should just head to the carriages, then."

"Carriages?" Nico asked.

"They take us up to the school from where we get dropped off." Hermione responded. "Why? What do they use at your school?"

Nico scowled and fingered Deathknell's hilt. "You really aren't going to stop, are you."

Hermione shrugged.

As they were walking down the hallway, Luna bounced up next to Nico.

"Don't be frustrated if Hermione keeps asking you about your school." Luna said. "She doesn't mean to be a bother, she just likes to know things. Have you ever seen a thestral?"

The sudden question surprised Nico. "Um, I don't think so."

"They're very nice. Have you ever seen someone die?"

That question alarmed Nico. "Uh... by someone, you mean, um... well... yes." Nico said, not entirely sure why he was telling her this.

"Who was it?" Luna asked.

"Um..." Now Nico was really unsure how to respond. He didn't want to tell this girl that he'd seen way too many people die to count, many of them friends. For some reason, though, he really didn't want to lie to this girl.

"Well... I've seen a few people die, but... well... the first was my mother." Nico said, after a moment.

Luna was silent for a second, and Nico was worried that she'd say something pitying.

He hated when people said 'I'm sorry for your loss' because, honestly, there was no way they could understand. There was no way anyone could understand how horrible it felt to lose the only person who truly loved you three times, once to the hunters, once to death, and once to rebirth...

Then Luna spoke up, breaking him out of his reverie. "I lost my mum, too. She died when one of her experiments failed. I was nine."

Nico took a second to digest this. "I was too young to remember my mother, when she died, but I had a sister. She took care of me, for awhile." Said Nico, wondering how this girl had made him trust her so fast.

"For awhile?" Luna asked.

Nico was silent for a moment, but was saved from having to answer when they got to the exit of the train. Moving out into the air, Nico took stock of his surroundings.

They were on a train platform in the middle of a forest. Tall hills surrounded the place, and the sky was full of stars. On the platform, there was a huge crowd of students in weird, uniform-like robes. Looking back, he realized that Luna and the others had changed into robes like them. Nico groaned as he realized that he stuck out like a sore thumb even more now, due to his brown coat.

Nico was just stepping down into the crowd when he heard a massive voice shouting above the noise of the students. He couldn't quite make out the words, and was about to move towards the voice in an effort to comprehend it, when the crowd parted.

Standing in front of Nico was a giant, shadowy figure, bellowing at the top of its lungs and rapidly advancing towards him with a brilliant light coming out of its hand.

Nico didn't have time to draw his sword, and his instincts told him to run, but knowing that his mortal friends were behind him he had no choice but to charge. He lunged at the hulk, ready to fight and die, when the thing stepped back in alarm and Nico dropped to the pavement, quickly rolling to break his fall. In a moment he was up and ready for anything.

What he found was not what he was expecting.

"Oi!" A voice said reproachfully. "What did you go and do that for? Ye scared me out o my wits!"

When Nico's eyes adjusted to the light, the thing he'd though was some monster on a rampage was actually a rather civilized looking giant, which seemed odd in the extreme.

"Oh... um, sorry, in the dark I thought you were... well... never mind." Nico said awkwardly.

The giant smiled. "Tha's ok. No harm done! Me names Hagrid, by the wa'." Hagrid squinted at Nico. "Who're you, anyway? I never seen you hear before."

"Nico di Angelo. Um, nice to meet you." Nico said.

"Ah!" Hagrid exclaimed, setting Nico's nerves on edge. He sounded a bit too much like the giants that Nico had fought in the war. "Ye must be tha' new student from, what wazzit, A-mer-ee-ca."

"Um, yes." Nico answered.

"Dumbledore told me tha' you could come with me on the boats or take the carriages if you'd made some friends already." Hagrid said.

Nico paled. "The carriages. Definately the carriages." Nico said, a little hurriedly.

"Suit yerself." Hagrid said nonchalantly. "You'll miss the giant squid."

Nico paled even more.

"Anyway, carriages are up tha' way, through those gates to the left. Better hurry up if you want to catch them."

Nico practically sprinted to the carriages, which he later regretted. As he hurried through the gates, an earsplitting alarm went off, and Nico was suddenly surrounded by about twenty wizards with wands aimed at his face. Nico raised his hands in surrender. All the students getting off the train had stopped and were staring in the direction of the gate.

"That's far enough!" One wizard said. Then, without warning, he cried out "_Petrificus totalus_!" and Nico fell to the ground immobilized.

One of them, a witch with bright pink hair, kneeled next to him and looked at him for a moment. "Evenson!" she yelled at the wizard who'd shot Nico. "What did you do? He was surrendering!"

Evenson stood awkwardly. "He looked like he was going to try and pull something, Tonks."

Tonks rubbed her forehead. "Evenson, we talked about this. Look at him." She gestured at Nico. "He's just a kid." Her eyes slipped a bit lower and widened.

"Wait... is that a sword?" she asked. Nico tried to give her a biting remark, but all that came out was a mumble.

"Let him go." Tonks told Evenson. With a flick of his wand, Nico could move again.

"Hey, you lot! Nothing to see here!" Hagrid bellowed. "Come on, get up to the castle, the lot of you!"

The huge crowd that had formed around the circle of wizards slowly began to disperse.

"Now." Tonks began. "Who are you?"

After explaining who he was, what he was doing here, and that his sword was essential to his person and if they attempted to take it from him he would view it as a cultural offence, the wizards finally agreed to turn off the alarms and let him through.

Nico only just managed to get to the carriage boarding area before the last carriage rolled out. He was pleasantly surprised to see Luna waiting for him by the carriage.

"Hello again." Luna's soft voice drifted across the clearing.

"Hey, Luna." Nico called back. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Oh, that's alright. I was also waiting for Harry, just in case he came back."

"Oh... is he missing?"

"Yes... he never made it to the carriages." Luna said calmly. "I'm sure he's fine."

Nico came to a stop about a foot away from Luna. "Want to see the thestrals?" Luca asked.

"Sure." Nico said. Luna took his hand and pulled him gently towards the carriage, and Nico followed. When Nico got to the front of the carriage, he saw a wonderous sight.

Two dark, winged, skeletal horses stood, hitched up to the carriage. They were some of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen, and when they saw him, they bowed to their knees. They whispered, "_Hail lord_!" in the back of his mind.

"_Rise._" Nico responded, and the thestrals stood. Nico turned back to Luna and saw her eyes were, if anything, wider.

"They seem to really like you." She said.

"_My lord, we need to go."_ A thestral said.

Nico walked over to the carriage, hopped on the first step, and helped Luna up into her seat. The Thestrals began to pull the carriage, and they rode up the road in comfortable silence.


	5. A Sorting Affair

The carriage rolled around a bend and, suddenly, Hogwarts came in to view. Nico had to gasp, because aside from Olympus, this building was the most beautiful building he'd ever seen. If Annabeth were here, she'd probably be in euphoria just talking about the architectural wonder of the place.

When the carriage rolled up, Nico and Luna hopped down. Nico walked to the front and said goodbye to the thestrals, then the two of them joined the crowd moving into the great hall.

Nico felt the eyes of many people in the crowd on him as he tried to make his way through. He managed to overhear various muttered and whispered comments.

"...America."

"...Wierdest boy I ever..."

"...he's got a sword!"

"...Dark magic..."

He was fairly uncomfortable, but Luna next to him didn't seem to notice the whispers of her classmates. Then Nico bumped into a boy in front of him by accident. The boy spun around.

"Watch where you're going, nutter!" Malfoy said. Nico raised an eyebrow.

Malfoy smirked as he noticed Luna come up next to Nico. "Got yourself a boyfriend, Looney? Someone as weird as you?"

Nico did not appreciate people teasing his friends. "Back off." He glowered, fingering Deathknell. The boy's eyes widened a bit, and then went back to normal.

"That some family heirloom? Because there's no way someone with clothes like yours could own that." Malfoy smirked.

Nico chuckled. "Making fun of my clothes? Really? 'Cause the day I take fashion tips from someone who bleaches his hair will be a sunny day in tartarus, my friend."

Malfoy's face flushed. "I don't bleach my hair!" He said angrily.

"Really? Then I think you should seek some medical help. You appear to be leaking color."

Malfoy smirked. "Oh, I'm the one who's leaking color? Look at your skin!"

"Well," Nico began, but at that moment professor McGonagall entered the room.

"You three! What are you doing here?" McGonagall said, somewhat alarmed. "You should get to your tables, the entrance is about to start."

As Nico began to walk, McGonagall suddenly called out, "Wait!" They looked back at her.

"Lovegood, Malfoy, you can go." Luna glanced at Nico.

"I'll catch up." He said, and Luna disappeared into the crowd.

"Mr. Di Angelo, I presume?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes." Nico answered, meeting her inquiring stare evenly.

After a moment, McGonagall blinked and said, "I am supposed to escort you to Dumbledore, the headmaster. He wishes to meet with you in person and discuss the rules and customs of our school." McGonagall turned towards a side door in the hallway. "Follow me." She said.

Nico walked steadily behind her as they went through the side corridor into another corridor and up a flight of stairs. Finally, they stopped at a plain wooden door.

"Right through here. I must get back to the first years now, enjoy the feast." McGonagall said before heading back the way she'd come.

Nico eyed the door. This didn't really seem like a trap, but as a demigod in a strange place, you really never know...

After arguing with himself for several minutes, Nico kept a hand clasped on Deathknell's hilt as he carefully twisted the handle and pushed...

Dumbledore watched as the door swung silently open. When he saw the figure standing in the hallway, he was very surprised. It was a boy of about fifteen, his clothes ragged and jet black but for the brown leather coat he wore. The boy's pale skin contrasted extremely with his raven hair. The hand that he used to open the door wore a silver ring in the shape of a skull, and in the other hand he clasped the hilt of a 3-foot long sword. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.

"Good evening, my young friend. My name is Dumbledore, and you are Nico di Angelo, I believe?" Dumbledore said, before sipping a cup of tea.

Nico nodded.

"So, would you care to tell me about this school you're from? It surprised me greatly that I had never heard of it." Dumbledore inquired.

Nico narrowed his eyes, and the two stared in silence for a few moments.

Mentally shrugging, Dumbledore changed the topic. "Anyways, I'm sure you're wondering about rules around this school. First of all, you must wear your Hogwarts uniform at all times. Use of magic while not in class is prohibited, with various exceptions. You should be in your common room by 9 P.M. every night.

The forbidden forest is strictly forbidden to all students, and you must have a written permission slip to access the restricted section of the library.

As you do not appear to own a broom, one will be provided for you should you wish to join the Quidditch team. " Dumbledore's eyes became serious.

"All bullying and fighting is strictly prohibited. Now, when we enter the great hall, I'm going to introduce you, and then you will be sorted into one of four houses."

Seeing Nico's glazed over eyes, Dumbledore frowned. "Also, I'm afraid I will have to confiscate your sword."

Nico snapped back into reality. "No." He said firmly, giving Dumbledore his 'I will send you to Tartarus' stare, but Dumbledore didn't back down.

"I'm sorry, but weapons are not allowed on school grounds. We want to provide as much safety as possible for students, and Ms. Granger reports that you are a bit, let's say, carefree when it comes to safety." Dumbledore held up a hand as Nico began to protest. "I know you don't agree with these rules, but I'm afraid that if you can't follow them, I cannot with sound mind let you into this school."

Nico's protests died in his throat as he thought for a moment. He had to accomplish his mission no matter what, with or without his sword.

Nico decided that Dumbledore seemed fairly honorable, so he could probably be trusted. "Alright." Nico reluctantly conceded. He undid his sword belt.

"Wait," Nico said seeing Dumbledore reaching out his hands for the sword, "don't touch it." He met Dumbledore's confused eyes. "Only I can touch it. Anyone else... you don't want to know."

Dumbledore nodded, understanding dawning. "I will keep it in a safe place, don't worry." Dumbledore drew his wand, gave it a flick, and Deathknell levitated out of Nico's hands and up out of sight in the shadows of the ceiling.

"Now then," Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling, "We may go to the feast."

Luna was thinking. She was usually thinking, contrary to the beliefs of some students, although usually she looked like she was daydreaming. She thought about magic, her friends, and all the strange creatures that only she seemed to see. Now she was thinking about the unusually large amount of wrackspurts drifting around the great hall.

"Hello, Luna." The Grey Lady greeted melodically on her way down the table.

"Hello. Unusual amount of wrackspurts here today." Luna responded.

"Oh... um, yes." The Grey Lady said uncertainly. Luna could tell that she was just pretending to see them, but that was alright. She'd learned long ago that no one but herself and sometimes her father could really see them. Except that boy, Nico... he'd really seemed to see that wrackspurt, or at least he was trying really hard to mock her, but something told Luna that that wasn't what it was.

"Now, everyone, I have a couple of announcements to make." Dumbledore was saying. The sorting had just finished, with the last boy scampering gleefully to Hugglepuff's table faster than a miniature Ragglepuff(a large, unintelligent goblin-like creature that loved tomato paste and were known to run very fast in its pursuit).

"First of all, Mr. Filch would like to remind everyone that there is a blanket ban on all 'Weasly's Wizard Wheezes' products." Luna smiled to herself. Fred and George were doing quite well for themselves, and Luna had already seen fifty-some 'Wheezes' in use around school, which was nice. Fred and George were almost like friends.

"We also have had two changes in management. Professor Slughorn-" Dumbledore gestured to a rather large looking man, who Luna thought looked something like a walrus. "-will be resuming his prior position of Potions master."

Luna frowned. What had happened to Snape?

"Also, our own professor, Severous Snape, will be assuming the post of 'defense against the dark arts' teacher."

This surprised Luna, and evidently surprised Harry too, seeing as he shouted out "NO!" loudly enough to be heard from Ravenclaw table. Muttering broke out all around the hall.

"Lastly," Dumbledore said, gesturing for quiet, "we have a visitor." He motioned next to him, and Luna suddenly saw Nico, who had been hidden behind the podium, stand next to Dumbledore.

"This is Nico di Angelo. He is an exchange student from the Academy of Olympus in New York, and he has come to observe our school and teaching techniques. I expect you all to treat him as your own. Now," Dumbledore motioned to McGonagall, who was holding the sorting hat, "We shall determine which house he will stay in for the duration of his visit. If you will." Dumbledore concluded, motioning Nico over to the sorting stool.

As soon as the hat touched his head, Nico knew that he was in trouble. He had expected sorting to be some sort of choice on his part. He did not expect a mind reading hat.

'_Well now, what's this?' _An alarmed Nico felt in his mind. 'GET OUT!' Nico thought with all his strength.

'_Now why would I do that when you need to be sorted? And so interesting, too. So many secrets...' _

Nico began to radiate fury. '**Listen, hat**,' Nico spat mentally, '**Look in my mind and see what will happen if you delve too far or reveal my secrets**.'

The hat seemed to have a double take._ 'Oh... you win this one, then. Anyways, back to business.' _

The hat was silent for a moment. _'This is dark, very dark... you have seen more terrible things than anyone I've ever read before. You have much cunning, but tremendous courage as well, to stand up to your own father, aside the fact that he is a god. You have fought bravely in the name of your friends, but you've manipulated them for your own gain as well. You have suffered much, and press on in spite of it.'_

The hat gave a mental sigh. '_I must say, this is impressive. I've never sorted anyone as complicated as you before. I honestly don't know how to sort this, you would succeed well in either house, but they will determine who your friends are and which side you choose.'_

Nico thought for a moment. '**Is malfoy a Slytherin?' **He asked.

'_Oh... yes. I see you're hostile to him. Well, that clears things up.'_ The hat responded.

"Alright... It'll be- GRYFFINDOR!" The hat said, suddenly. Said table cheered, but underneath the cheering Nico could hear some muttering.

He walked over to the table, feeling a bit off balance without Deathknell on his hip, but when he sat down he felt... better, somehow. It might have just been the huge amount of wonderful food on the table, but Nico didn't think it was just that.

A few tables away, Draco smirked. He'd thought that the half-dead looking boy had something about him he didn't like. It was obviously that arrogant air he had about him, characteristic of Gryffindors. His smile faded as he remembered the task he had to do. He didn't have time to mock the new kid, Pico, or whatever. Then again, Draco thought, a smirk coming back to his face, that's what henchmen were for, wasn't it?

"That concludes the announcements." Dumbledore said. "Everyone up to bed now, and get ready for the year."


	6. Breakfast of Pillows

Nico had been very tired the night after his mental match with the hat. He had walked right through a crowd of ghosts, not even noticing they were there. They, of course, screamed and scattered through the nearest wall, but Nico was practically sleepwalking. Shadow traveling from Hades to London was finally catching up with him.

Almost immediately after falling into the bed with the name 'Nico di Angelo' on it, Nico was in Hades' throne room. Hecate, her hair now bright green, stood next to Hades' throne, where the dark god sat, giving Nico a very calculated glare.

"Nico." Hades nodded, and Nico paled imperceptibly. He could hear a tone of frustration in his father's voice.

"Father." Nico kneeled.

Hades looked annoyed, and Hades being annoyed generally didn't end well.

"Nico, the gods have been watching your progress so far, and we are not entirely satisfied with your performance." Hades was being very formal, likely because of Hecate's presence. Hades and his children never showed weakness.

"What's wrong, my lord?" Nico asked.

"You have been careless when it came to your sword, and the girl Luna. The wizards are growing curious, even suspicious. The gods do not want conflict yet, so we advise you become more careful. We don't want the wizards to learn that we sent you to spy on them." Hades said.

Nico nodded. He didn't know why he'd told so much to Luna, but he would try his best to keep a comfortable distance, although a large part of him still wanted to be friends with the girl. Surely, though, he could still do that if he kept his guard up, right?

"Anyways," Hades continued, "this will be the last time we can correspond for awhile. Hecate will be able to inform us of certain events, but due to the magical wards of this place, I will not be able to contact you directly after midnight tonight."

Hades expression grew a little less stern for a moment. "Good luck, my son." He said.

"Bye!" Hecate said cheerfully, turning her hair back to its regular black color.

Nico woke up.

Harry and Ron had gotten back to their common room awhile after the feast. They found a fifth four-poster bed in their room, with a dark shape collapsed on top of it. Getting closer, they realized that it was Nico. He was sleeping quietly, almost completely silent, although when they listened hard they thought they could hear really tiny wisps of breath, but it was hard to tell.

Harry was still angry about the broken nose and shocked that Snape had finally won, but the thing he was the most confused about was Nico's sorting.

I mean, the kid's obviously Slytherin. His arrogance, the way he teased Luna, he wore a skull ring for goodness' sake! Yet the sorting hat had put him in Gryffindor.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted as he drifted off to sleep, puzzled expression on his face. Next to him, Ron thought only of the delicious chicken breast he'd eaten at dinner, and as he dreamed about it he chewed lightly on his pillow.

The next morning, Harry woke to a loud crash and the sound of someone running.

"Wazzhappnin?" He asked groggily, to no one in particular.

"GET-OUT-OF-THIS-ROOM-OR-I-WILL-SEND-YOU-TO-THE-UNDERWORLD-WHERE-YOU-BELONG-YOU-FILTHY-LUMP-OF-ECTOPLASM!" Someone shouted.

"Pweese, sir, I was just having a wittow bit o fun-" Something answered.

"GET OUT!" The person shouted again, and there was a shriek as something wizzed past Harry's head and out the door.

Much more awake from being nearly hit by some flying object, Harry looked over at the figure who was still muttering.

"Ghosts... I had to come to the one castle... got to be thousands of those things... so much paperwork..." Harry heard.

"Uh... what just happened?" Harry asked. He noticed that Ron, Seamus and Neville were beginning to stir from all the noise.

Harry realized that it had been Nico yelling. Said person looked over at Harry with an expression of disgust that Harry could tell wasn't directed at him.

"That was one of those accursed poultergiests... damn their souls to tartarus. He had his hands full of water balloons. Probably would've used them if I hadn't yelled him out of the room. Zeus, this place is infested with ghosts. Damned blighters, when I get my hands on one of them..." Nico had lain back on his bed and was drifting off to sleep when Harry got up, stretched, and looked at the time.

"Hey, Ron, get up! Breakfast is in half an hour!" Harry said loudly in Ron's ear.

"Whaagh?" Ron asked, a large portion of his pillow stuck in his mouth.

Nico cracked an eyelid. "I suppose I should get back up, then." He said exasperatedly.

Harry and Ron began to change into their robes, and Nico found a set of Gryffindor robes on his bedside table that he promptly changed into, keeping the skull ring and his regular clothes on under it.

They walked down to the common room, where Ron and Harry split off to go talk to Hermione.

Nico got in line behind them to get out the entrance hole, and noticed that a large amount of people seemed to be staring and whispering at Harry. He watched as Hermione took a strange, green Frisbee from a kid about a year younger than Nico was. Ron promptly grabbed it out of her hand, and a dark skinned girl standing nearby giggled. Nico took an instant dislike for this girl, reminding him of a girl from Aphrodite cabin he knew...

Shaking off the rogue thoughts, Nico left the common room and headed down to breakfast with the other students.

It was an interesting breakfast. Considering that Nico was used to a diet of McDonalds, Starbucks coffee, nuts, berries, Nectar, ambrosia and the occasional pizza or wild turkey, it was pretty good, but... British food was weird. For breakfast there were eggs, toast, some weird thing that they called pudding but looked nothing like the substance he was used to, and tea. Tea! Who in their right mind drinks tea!

Nico's tea hating thoughts were interrupted when professor McGonagall tapped his shoulder.

"Mr. Di Angelo, your schedule." She handed him a sheet of parchment.

Nico began to read the schedule, but after a moment his dyslexia kicked in, and the words got all scrambled. "Um, professor?" He asked as McGonagall was about to walk away.

"What is it?" McGonagall asked.

"I have, um, dyslexia, so I can't really read the schedule..." McGonagall eyed him with disbelief, but told him his class order anyways. Slightly embarrassed at having to ask for help, Nico headed off to class in an attempt to get there early.

Malfoy saw the lone Gryffindor beginning to leave, and motioned Crabbe and Goyle over. Pointing to Nico, he whispered to them, "See that new kid, Pico or something, over there?" Malfoy's cronies nodded dumbly. "I think that you should give that pompous little Gryffindor a good Slytherin welcome. You know what I mean?" They nodded, cruel smiles lighting up their faces at the prospect of terrifying a helpless kid, something Malfoy hadn't let them do in a while.

Nico was on his way down another hallway, having finally gotten directions from a passing prefect (to Nico's embarrassment). He passed by a classroom and overheard a little bit of the opening spiel. "Alright, quiet down, everyone. Welcome, Hugglepuffs, to your first day of potions!"

One of the students spoke up. "Um, sir?"

"Yes, Dirrely?" Slughorn's voice answered.

"Its, um, Hufflepuff, not that other thing..."

"Are you sure?" Slughorn asked. He continued before the student could answer. "Well, alright then, Huffypuffs, lets get started!" There was a mass groan from the Hufflepuff side of the class.

Nico was chuckling for a little while afterwards when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind him. Nico stopped and turned, and saw two people following him.

They were two large, brutish looking boys, wearing the green of Slytherin. Being part of Malfoy's house didn't necessarily make them bad, but Nico could tell from the expressions on their faces that they were the bullying type.

Nico'd seen that type of expression on boys at Westover Hall, long ago. He also knew that he didn't get along with that type of people, although he'd been much shorter and weaker back then. He was slightly taller than normal height now, and while he didn't have the build for big muscles, he was much stronger than most mortals. Nico fingered his ring for a moment, then decided that he didn't need to use it. Not yet, anyway.

"Morning." Nico said dryly, a guarded expression on his face.

"'Morning' newbie!" The thinner one sneered, doing a mocking impression of Nico's voice. "We've come to give you our Slytherin welcome to Gryffindors." They drew uncomfortably close, stopping about two feet away.

Nico gave a mental sigh. These two idiots were looking for a fight.

Goyle thought he could read an expression on the weak-looking (actually very lean and fairly muscular, although his muscles were disguised by the robes) boy's face of masked terror (actually exasperation). Goyle was about to continue taunting, but Crabbe charged in before he could say another word.

Nico saw the fatter one lunge towards him out of the corner of his eye, but the boy seemed to be moving ridiculously slowly. Nico contemptuously sidestepped and watched the boy stagger past and fall flat on his stomach.

Nico turned back to face the other boy, who had charged with arms outstretched to grab Nico while his back was turned. Almost caught off guard, Nico ducked and rolled between Goyles legs, tripping him up in the process. Goyle staggered on, but tripped over and fell on top of Crabbe, who was still trying to get up.

Nico had to laugh at the ridiculous sight of the two of them squirming on the ground, but stopped immediately when he heard the class bell ring. He was late to his first class: divination. Nico ran off in the direction of the divination tower, leaving Crabbe and Goyle still helplessly trying to untangle themselves, fighting a losing battle against gravity.

Nico rushed through the door of a classroom, interrupting a weird woman who looked like a cross between a hippy and a gypsy in the middle of her speech.

"...doom! Doom upon-" Everyone in the class looked over at the door as it banged open.

"My boy, who are you?" The woman asked. "Have you come to learn the dark secrets of the universe, to learn the mystical art of divination?"

"Uh... sure, I guess?" Nico answered.

The woman frowned. Apparently that was not the answer she'd been hoping for.

"Anyways, I'm professor Trewlaney, and I am here to-" Trewlaney jerked to a stop, her mouth half open.

Nico realized that everyone in the class was still staring at him. "Um, is she okay? She just sort of stopped..." Nico started to blush, not being used to being the center of attention.

Then Trewlaney began to speak, and Nico instantly realized what was happening.

She was making a prophecy.

Her voice, changed and multiplied to that of the three fates, said this:

_**To school of magic death has come**_

_**With gods' mandate his guest begun**_

_**But truly, he will not prevail**_

_**Alone in despair, his quest shall fail**_

_**For shadows gather, growing near**_

_**And heart of Iron will show fear**_

_**If he learns too late what holds him fast**_

_**His soul is lost to demons blast.**_

Nico sat down hard. The class gazed at Trewlaney in shock.

The woman blinked. "Oh, what was I saying? Ah, yes. Welcome to divination!" She said the last part with a spooky voice.

Nico just stared. He'd been given a prophecy, and from the sound of it, his soul was possibly doomed to be blasted by a demon.


	7. Care of Highly Dangerous Creatures

Nico had not had a good hour, prophecy of his failure and soul loss aside. He was given a textbook with strange archaic pictures, and his dyslexia was acting up from the weird stares he was getting from the rest of the class, so he couldn't read a word. He also discovered that, her actual oracle-ness aside, Trelawney was pretty much a fake. Her class was really very boring.

When Nico finally got out of Divination, he looked at his schedule for his next class.

Care of Magical creatures, Nico managed to make out.

Well, at least it sounds fairly interesting, thought Nico.

When Nico arrived at the groundskeeper's hut, where the directions had told him to go, he found that the population of this class was pretty sparse. He saw a few scattered Hugglepuffs (or whatever they were called), a couple Gryffindors, and one particular blond haired girl.

Luna drifted over to Nico, a soft smile lighting up her face. "Hello Nico. You look a bit distraught." She leaned close and sniffed his shoulder. "Trelawney?" She inquired, withdrawing a bit.

Nico, startled a bit responded, "How did you know?"

"Just a guess." She said absently. "She always has the smell of old socks about her."

"Huh." Nico shrugged. "So, who teaches this class?"

Luna looked at him with mild surprise. "Hagrid, of course."

Said half giant emerged out of his cabin holding a rather large crossbow. "Morning, everyone. I know tha' most of ye would've rather taken another class, so I got a special treat fer you all. Come along now!" Hagrid began to move off towards the forbidden forest. The gaggle of students quickly followed him. Hagrid's normal pace was a light jog for the rest of them.

They reached a clearing filled with the ruins of some old stone structure, mostly just scattered rocks. In the middle was a large, metal cage around a large wooden box, about one story high.

"Awright, now, quiet down." Hagrid said jollily. He set his crossbow down next to the cage. "Now then," He continued, turning to the rest of them, "I had to petition Dumbledore awhile before he would agree to let me bring one on the property, even a fully trained, barely adult one. Really though, I'm sure you'll be interested." Hagrid was wearing a huge grin, but Nico really didn't like where this was going.

"I'll just open it up now, then." Hagrid moved to open the large metal gate, which was a little bit taller than he was. Nico fingered his ring nervously.

Everyone else looked very interested, some of them (Luna included) even excited, although many looked fairly suspicious.

"And... Here we go!" Hagrid said as he hoisted up the metal beam that was keeping the door locked. It was as thick as a tree trunk. Nico's instincts told him to run, and now, before whatever was in the cage got out.

The door creaked as Hagrid pulled open the door, and to the delight of almost every student a large, nearly adult, orange scaled, spike tailed, razor-toothed dragon advanced out of its prison. It had a chain around its wings, and looked quite docile, right up until it noticed Nico. Their eyes locked, and klaxons sounded in Nico's brain. This dragon wanted to eat him, really, really badly.

So Nico did the only thing an experienced, courageous, tough as nails demigod would do.

He dove for cover behind a boulder.

Which turned out to be the right reaction, considering that the next second the spot he'd been standing in was obliterated by dragonfire.

Everyone else screamed and dove for cover, except for Hagrid, who seemed to be trying to reason with the beast.

"Oi! There's no need fer tha-" Hagrid was smacked in the face by the dragon's tail, and was sent flying backwards, out cold. The dragon began to go on a rampage, blasting fire and crushing rock.

Nico was desperately trying to think of a plan. He could send the dragon to hades in a blink of an eye, but that would blow his cover instantly, with so many witnesses, and he couldn't afford to fail his mission. He could use his ring, but that would use up his back-up plan and make the wizards more suspicious. He could try to draw the dragon away from the mortals, but that would arouse too many questions when they found the dragon's body cut to pieces...

A little voice inside him whispered to him to shadow travel away, that the wizards would be fine if he wasn't there to anger it, but he pushed the thoughts away. He wouldn't abandon these people to the dragon on the off chance that it would stop when he left. That wasn't what a hero would do.

Nico tried to think.

What would Percy do? Charge in; fight the thing face to face, no matter what the cost.

What would Annabeth do? Probably come up with some brilliant plan.

What should Nico do?

He peeked over the top of the boulder at the dragon, seeing it flail its tail at a rock where some students where hiding. It just bounced off, and Nico saw it angrily try to unfurl its wings, which were trapped by a chain. A chain...

Nico looked down at his belt, a chain of stygian iron, and had an idea. It was a brilliant, crazy, impossibly dangerous idea, one that he wouldn't consider if he had any other plan in mind.

He glanced over the top of the boulder again and nearly got a face-full of fire. The dragon was advancing steadily towards him now. If he couldn't get out from behind the boulder, he'd never have his shot.

Then he heard someone shout "_Impedimenta!_". Nico peered over again to see Luna's spell smash the dragon in the nose, but instead of making it back off-

It turned on Luna.

The girl was still standing there, her eyes and mouth wide open, ready to cast another spell, but the dragon was staring her down, and any minute it might barbeque her. Nico had no choice. He wouldn't let anyone die for him.

Nico vaulted over the rock, hitting the ground running strait towards the dragon.

"Hey, iguana, over here!" He shouted, trying to draw the dragon's attention as he sprinted towards it.

The dragon's head turned to glare at him instantly. Dragons, apparently, did not like being referred to as 'iguana'. It blasted fire at him, but luckily it hadn't taken much time to aim, because Nico was able to combat-roll to the side and just ended up a little singed. As he ran, he quickly undid his belt.

The dragon took better aim and was about to blast Nico into oblivion when Luna shouted "_Stupefy!_" and said spell smacked the dragon in the face. It turned to face Luna again, and so was very surprised when Nico leapt on its neck.

Nico wrapped his belt around the dragon's neck, praying to the gods that this would work. Twisting it around, he pulled with all his strength. The dragon's long neck began to flail around beneath him, trying to smash him into trees or fling him off. Nico was only able to stay on because of the tension from the chain, so he held on tight.

Luna and the other students just stared on in amazement. The new Gryffindor, Nico, was taking down a dragon with his_ belt_. They'd never heard of anyone winning a dual with a dragon that wasn't an extremely powerful wizard or a storybook hero, and a storybook hero would've at least had a magic sword and some shining armor. Nico had just jumped on its neck and began strangling it. How he was even strong enough to do that through the dragon's scales was anyone's guess.

He just stood on its neck and pulled, although it did appear to cost him a lot of effort. As they watched the dragon's protests grew weaker and weaker. As it was about to fall unconscious, however, it blasted the ground next to it with fire and rolled in it.

The students gasped. Nico had been brushed off and rolled over by the dragon in flaming grass. When the dragon passed out, exhausted, moments later, Luna had sprinted over to where he'd fallen and was already putting out the fires around Nico. She rushed over to him, kneeling by his head. He looked bad.

Large portions of his skin were burned, his hair seemed to be, remarkably, just burned a little shorter. His forehead and cheeks had several cuts from dragon spines, and it looked as if he might have broken bones, but it was hard to tell. There was a large cut across his upper chest that appeared to have been cauterized by the fire. His entire body was covered in ash, and his robes were singed and ripped, although his clothes underneath just seemed a little sooty.

As Luna looked on, beginning to panic, her eyes flashing back to her mother's singed laboratory, Nico stirred.

"Ow." He muttered, his eyelids struggling to open,

"You did it. You saved me. And, um, the rest of the students." Luna said.

"Don' mention it." Nico said, then groaned. When he tried to sit up, he cried out but quickly bit the sound off, refusing to show weakness, and laid back down. "Did you get the license plate of that truck that hit me?" He muttered.

"What?" Luna said, alarmed. Did Nico hit his head hard enough to forget what had happened?

"Forget it." Nico said. He managed to open his eyes and tried to look over at the dragon, but he couldn't really move his neck very well from his currant position.

"Who won?" He asked. He looked up at Luna, kneeling above him. Her grey eyes stared down at him, and her face had a worried expression. Her oddly pale eyebrows were furrowed, and her nose was crinkled a little bit. She looked kind of cute when she was worried. Wait, what!?

As Luna looked down at Nico, she was flooded with relief. He wasn't going to die, not like mother. As her eyes met his brown ones, she felt a little twinge of curiosity. His eyes looked... sad, somehow. They looked like they'd seen things that they should never have had to see, held great sorrow and great horror. She suddenly felt very protective of him, seeing him lying helplessly on the ground, body burnt and broken. She wanted to take care of him, and ease his pain, see him laugh and smile and... wait, what? It was because he'd saved her from being blasted by the dragon, of course. That must be what it was. No, she couldn't possibly want to help him for anything like-no. She'd heard of this sort of thing before, but there was no way she could possibly... she barely even knew the boy!

She was broken out of her confused thoughts when Nico spoke again. "So... did we beat the dragon?" He began to cough, and a little blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

Luna was alarmed. "It's fine. Just some broken ribs." Nico answered quickly. He coughed again, and looked anything but fine.

"Then don't talk." Luna said. She gently brushed the blood off his cheek. "You've done enough. You beat a dragon!"

Nico felt a little shock from Luna's touch. It was much more pleasant than when Thalia blasted him, but it worried him much more. Looking up at her, he felt... weird. Of course, that was when the pain kicked in.

"Son of a-" Nico gritted his teeth.

Luna saw his body tense up. She suddenly realized that they'd been sitting there awhile, and the students were still staring at the dragon in shock. Hagrid was sitting up, holding his head.

"He needs help!" She said loudly, her soft voice ringing across the clearing. Hagrid, alarmed, staggered over.

"Wa happened here?!" He said groggily. When he saw Nico, his expression turned grave. "Oh... that poor boy...I never thought tha' it would..."

"Hagrid!" Luna snapped. "He's still alive! We need to get him up to the castle!"

Hagrid quickly walked over and picked up Nico in his arms. Nico cried out in pain as his body shifted. The other students, shocked out of their numbness, started to run towards them, but Luna yelled for them to stop. "We need to get that dragon back in its cage. Use _wingardium leviosa_!" Luna then sprinted off after Hagrid, who was running towards the castle.

Nico groaned with pain as Hagrid thumped his way across the grounds. This never seemed to happen to Percy.

Nico passed out from pain soon after.


	8. A series of unfortunate events

The throne room of Olympus was silent, the tension palpable. All the gods were staring at one in particular.

"Aphrodite," Zeus started, barely restrained anger evident in his voice, "what. Did. You. Do?"

Aphrodite avoided the gazes of the other gods. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." She looked around the other gods' faces. "What? Don't tell me no one else was a bit bored. The story needed a little spice, a little odd couple romance. Who better than loner boy and looney girl?"

"This isn't a game, Aphrodite." Hades glowered. "If this affects my son's mission in _any_ way, I swear-"

"Hades, now is not the time." Zeus intervened. "What's done is done. We can't change anything from here. We can only watch and wait."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a dark and looming mansion, a dark figure sat on a dark throne.

Voldemort sat on his throne, waiting. He'd received an intriguing message on the back of one of his death eaters. Dead, of course, but the message was not overly hostile. It called for a meeting at his mansion at midnight. So he waited.

At the stroke of midnight, the doors opened silently. In strode a tall, slender girl with brown hair. Voldemort had to laugh. The girl frowned.

"What's so funny?" Kelli asked.

Voldemort thought her accent was odd, possibly American. He barely dignified her with an answer. "Well, girl," he said, "it's the fact that you, apparently, do not know who you're talking to. I, am, VOLDEMORT! Now, give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you."

Kelli frowned. Then her head lit on fire.

Voldemort was mildly surprised, but more so when he noticed that she had fangs and weirdly mismatched legs.

"Well, I can provide you with an army powerful enough to destroy your pathetic ministry." Kelli wore an evil grin. "Assuming you're interested."

Voldemort was intrigued, but he also knew that this strange creature had conditions. "What, per say, would you want in return?" Voldemort's cold voice rang out from where he was lounging on his throne.

"Just one thing." Kelli paused. "There is a certain… child I want dead. A child with a special lineage, currently attending a school known as Hogwarts." Kelli smiled coldly.

"I can't provide you with more clues than that, but kill this child, and you will have your army."

Voldemort considered the proposition. He didn't really have a problem with killing some random child. After a moment, Voldemort finally spoke.

"Deal."

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione had just left potions class, and Harry was voicing his doubts of Nico.

"Seriously, though. He's obviously a Slytherin. He's arrogant, he refuses to tell us anything, he makes fun of Luna, and just look at the guy!"

"Harry," Hermione interrupted, "the sorting hat must have a reason for putting him in Gryffindor."

Harry scoffed. "Really? You think he's some 'brave hero' or something?"

They turned a corner and saw a large group of students gathered around a Hufflepuff.

Seamus Finnegan rushed over to them. "Harry, Ron, Hermione! Have you heard the news?"

"What happened?" They asked at the same time.

"That new kid, Nico? He brought down a dragon!" Seamus said excitedly.

"What!?" Said Hermione.

"Singlehandedly!" Seamus continued.

"What!?" Hermione and Ron said.

"That's not the best part, though. He did it with his _belt_!" Seamus exclaimed.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron exclaimed.

"Not possible." Hermione said.

"Where the heck did he find a dragon?" Harry asked skeptically.

Ginny walked over. "He was down at care of magical creatures. Hagrid had brought in a dragon for the first day, and apparently it went rogue. It started attacking the students, so this kid jumped on its back and strangled it to the ground with this chain he wears as a belt. Unfortunately, it apparently rolled over in some flaming grass just before it passed out, and the kid got crushed beneath it." Ginny stared off into space for a moment.

"He must've been so brave, saving all those students…" Ginny walked away.

Hermione turned to Harry, smirk on her face. "You were saying?"

* * *

Nico woke up and immediately felt pain slam him like a freight train. He groaned softly. He could feel that he was on some hospital bed, and that there was a large bandage across his chest and head. At the edge of his perception, he heard voices talking, and he immediately focused in on the conversation.

"What, exactly, are you saying, Madame Pomfrey?"

"Well, Albus… I'm worried for the boy. He's recovering remarkably fast, but, Albus…" The old woman's voice showed a tone of worry. "It's just… he has these scars, a lot of them, all over his body. On his chest, on the back of his head, a couple on his arms and legs… not large scars, Albus, but they were definitely made by blades or claws. I have no idea what could've made some of them… who is he, Albus?"

Nico heard a sigh. "I don't know, Poppy, but I assure you I'm trying to find out."

It took a moment for Nico to realize that they were talking about him, and why he was here in the first place. He tried to listen for more, but the conversation seemed to be over, and he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Nico woke up again, and this time the pain just felt like getting hit by a football player, not the whole team. Nico groaned softly, and suddenly heard weird, tittering noises coming from… all around him. Something was wrong. Very slowly, Nico carefully cracked open one eyelid. He saw…

A large crowd of faces staring at him.

Nico yelped and pushed himself back to the farthest extent of the bed. The tittering increased, and there was also… giggling?

Nico suddenly realized that these things weren't monsters. No, they were something much worse entirely; a crowd of girls, standing there, giggling at him. Giggling, for gods' sake! What in Hades had he done to deserve this?

One brown haired girl was at the front of the pack. She actually climbed over the bed's footboard and sat on his legs, causing him a surprising amount of pain.

"Hello there, hero…" She said, tracing her finger up his bare (but bandaged) chest. Nico was reeaaally not liking this situation, but he couldn't really do anything. He had a sinking feeling that these girls were probably teasing him.

"W-what do you want from me? Who are you?" Nico said, voice coming out as a croak. How long had he been asleep?

"Romilda Vane. Oh, I don't want anything in particular…" she said, obviously wanting something badly. The other girls had begun to creep in, touching his arms, admiring his muscles, and Nico was on the verge of hyperventilation. What in Hades' name was going on? Had these girls been hypnotized by some weird spell or something?

"I, just, want… _you._" She leaned in, trying to kiss him. Nico ducked aside, and the girl ended up kissing the headboard. She growled and grabbed Nico's head, pulling him back up. Nico cried out in pain, her hands laying right on his head wound.

"Kiss me, hero!"Romilda said, forcibly pulling his head towards her face. Her lipstick was pink. Oh, Hades no!

At the last moment, Nico (to his great pain) shifted his head so that she kissed his forehead.

The girl released him and eyed him ruefully. "You're such a _bad_ boy. Playing hard to get."

Nico noticed another girl on his other side playing with his hair, and quickly pulled out of her reach. The entire horde began to giggle. Nico overheard little comments through the white noise, like "He's so _dreamy_!" And "...Just like Edward!" And, to his great horror, "...I could change him, make him bright and happy." The entire group began to fight over which girl Nico liked the most.

Nico spoke up. "What are you people doing!? What's wrong with you?"

They all looked back at him, and Nico instantly regretted saying anything.

"It's not something wrong with us, Dragon-slayer." Romilda Vane looked at him pityingly. Nico took an immediate dislike of this girl from that look alone, even aside from the, um, throwing herself at him. "It's you, you poor, lonely boy. That's why you dress that way, isn't it? You must be _so _lonely..." All the rest of the crowd let out a collective "Awwwww!"

Now Nico was really annoyed. He didn't care why these girls were fawning over him, but he hated it. They all looked about a year younger than him (technically 71 years younger) and they didn't seem to have any real life experience. Plus they were comparing him to _Edward, _that abomination! Still, he didn't really understand why they were...

Nico stopped, a tentative, nervous realization hitting him.

Hero... Dragon-slayer... surely they couldn't be here because... no. No, surely that couldn't be right. He was a son of Hades, no one viewed him as a hero.

Nico started to panic. He hated attention, and if this was what he got for being a 'hero', he really didn't want it. He hadn't done anything special, anyway. Sure, he'd jumped on the back of a dragon, but he would've been toast if Luna hadn't blasted it with her spells.

Nico decided to risk asking the girls a question before they were all over him again.

"Um... what happened to Luna, after the dragon passed out?"

The girls looked taken aback. "Loony?" One girl asked. "Loony Loveless?" The girls all sniggered.

Nico suddenly felt very angry. "No, Luna Lovegood. That is her _name_, after all." Nico said with restrained rage.

The girls looked confused. "Why would you possibly care about her?" Another girl asked.

Nico was about to shout an answer at them when one girl, who'd been sneaking up on him from behind, tackled him. Nico was immediately filled with excruciating pain as several of his cuts reopened and blood began to stain his bandages. Nico could hardly take it, feeling like he was being stabbed by a billion knives, and he blacked out.

* * *

When he came to, he saw an matronly woman standing next to his bed. Seeing him awake, she gave him a curt nod.

"About time you woke up." She turned to face him. "How on earth did you manage to get on the floor, bleeding like a stuck pig, if I may ask?"

Nico, still groggy, had a hard time remembering. "Well... there were these girls... one of them tried to kiss me..."

"I guessed that much." The woman said. She held up a mirror to Nico's face, and he nearly passed out again.

His entire face was covered in pink lipstick kisses. PINK.

"I tried to wash them off, but I think they've been spelled on." The old woman said.

Nico looked at her with un-comprehensive horror.

"I... I remember one of them. A girl named-"

"Romilda Vane?" She asked.

"How did you-" She pointed down at his chest.

Nico, dreading what he might see, looked down. Right over where his heart was, she'd colored a pink one, and put **'Romilda + Nico 4 ever**' in the middle, in fluorescent pink.

"Get. It. OFF. Me." Nico stated.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head, a little smile on her face. "I'm afraid we've already questioned the girl. She has no Idea how to reverse it's effects, so we're waiting for professor Flitwick to finish an important charms experiment."

"When will he be done?" Nico asked anxiously.

"In a couple hours." Madame Pomfrey said apologetically.

Nico paled.

"One the bright side," she continued, "you've been excused from all the schoolwork you've missed. In fact, I believe you've become somewhat of a hero, almost equal to Harry Potter."

Nico became interested. "Harry?" He asked. "What did Harry do?"

Madame Pomfrey looked confused, but before she could say anything there was a knock on the door.

"Hello?" A voice came through the door. Madame Pomfrey walked over, opened it a crack, and had a short conversation that Nico could barely make out. She opened it wider, and in stepped the three Gryffindors he'd met the other day, Hermione, Ron and Harry. They walked over to his bed. When they got within eye range, they just stared.

"Um, Nico," Ron sniggered, "You've got something on your face."

Nico gave him his 'I will send you to Tartarus after chopping you into a thousand pieces' glare, and Ron paled.

"Look, um, Nico," Hermione started, "we just came to apologize for treating you coldly when we first met you. We had no idea that... um, are those lipstick kisses?" She asked.

She looked farther down and saw the lipstick heart. "Oh... are you with-"

Nico cut her off before she even finished the question. "Show me that gorgon and I will send her to HAD-I mean, Hell!"

The three of them stepped back a bit, alarmed.

"Well..." Hermione continued, "I could probably take those off for you."

Nico jumped at the chance. "Do it now. Please."

Hermione pulled out her wand, but before saying anything, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"You know... before I do this, would you mind telling me something?"

Nico narrowed his eyes. He couldn't afford to blow his mission over this. Still... the pink might stain...

"Sure, whatever. Shoot."

"Where did you get all those scars?"

Nico wagged a finger at her. "Not until you take away the pink."

Hermione shrugged. She pulled out her wand. "I remember how to get this stuff off because Fred and George gave me a bottle of it for free from their shop, so if Romilda said anything about not being able to remove it she was probably lying." She said an incantation, flicked her wand, and Nico saw the pink magically disappear from his body. "Now," she continued, "About my answer."

Nico sighed, but began to talk. "Well... back at my school, they don't just train us to use magic. They train us to survive in the real world, and sometimes they test us. I've gone off on my own missions before, and I've had to fight a lot of creatures. Does that answer your question?"

Nico could see that Hermione now had many more questions, but he held up a hand. "Hey, one favor, one answer. That was a big favor, thus a big answer."

Suddenly, Ron spoke up. "Did you really beat that dragon singlehandedly with just your belt?" He asked excitedly.

Nico gave him a skeptical look. "Singlehandedly? Um, no. If I had tried to beat that dragon _alone_ with just my belt I'd be dragon-chow."

They looked confused. "Someone helped you? Who? Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Again, no. He got knocked out at the beginning of the fight. It was Luna who really helped."

Hermione and Ron looked surprised, but Harry sneered at Nico, making him narrow his eyes. "You tease her and she saves you. You probably still think she's crazy though, don't you. Typical."

Nico was both confused and outraged. "Excuse me!? I _never_ thought Luna was crazy, and I _never _teased her! Do you really think that I'm shallow enough not to care about the girl that _saved my life_!?" Nico shouted at the end.

Harry looked taken aback, and Ron and Hermione were staring at him.

"I... um... but..." Harry struggled for words under Nico's venomous gaze.

"Try not to judge people before they open their mouths." Nico said coldly.

Suddenly, Madame Pomfrey's voice drifted down from her office. "Visiting hours are now over."

Nico blinked. He hadn't realized that it was already nighttime.

Harry stormed out of the room, and Ron and Hermione said goodbye too Nico quickly before scurrying after him.

Nico laid back on his bed, feeling exhaustion hit him, and went to sleep.

* * *

Silently, through the dark hallways, a pale girl in a white nightshirt drifted. She had no shoes, but she walked on the cold floor without complaint. She drifted along until she came to a doorway, where she yawned and opened her eyes.

"Oh," she said softly. "That's why I'm here." She pulled the door open, making no noise, and padded in.

The hall went back fairly far, filled with beds. All were empty, save one.

The girl, Luna, walked silently up to the boy. She gently set down the letter she was carrying on his bedside table and paused to look at him. He looked oddly peaceful, lying there. His Raven hair contrasting sharply with his pale skin and the bandage wrapped around his head.

I must be dreaming, Luna thought. He looks so much younger with his eyes closed. I wonder why?

Then she turned and drifted back out the door, leaving only the letter to show that she'd ever been in the room.


	9. A Day in the Hospital Wing

Draco Malfoy kneeled in a dark room in front of his master. He'd been called away from plotting Dumbledore's assassination when his dark mark had begun to burn. Voldemort had called for him, and he wasn't sure why.

"Draco." His sinister, cold voice rang out suddenly.

Draco waited in silence.

"I have a new task for you." Voldemort said.

Draco looked up, shocked. "H-have you found me unworthy, m-my lord?" He sniveled.

Suddenly Voldemort's wand was pointed directly at Draco's face. "Did I ask you a question, Draco?" He whispered dangerously.

Draco remained silent.

Voldemort put his wand back. "As I was saying, I have a new task for you to do in conjunction with your assassination plans. It is, in fact, another assassination."

Draco was curious. "Who needs to die, my lord?"

Voldemort was silent for a moment. "A student, a child from Hogwarts. A child with a... special lineage. I this child will stand out from the rest. You must find them and kill them. Now go."

Draco nodded, stood, and turned to leave, but as he was walking through the door, he heard his master's parting words. "You know what will happen if you fail me."

* * *

Nico awoke, feeling much stronger. He noticed immediately that his bandages were gone, and all that remained was a slight trace of the burned scar on his chest. He still felt fairly tired, though, and ravenously hungry. He looked over at his nightstand and saw a tray of food and... A white envelope. Curious, Nico reached over and picked it up, wincing at the strain if his aching shoulders.

As Nico opened it, a chunk of yellow cake fell out. Nico immediately realized that it was ambrosia. Curious, Nico pulled out the letter. Right off the bat he noticed an oddly elegant scrawl to the person's handwriting.

_Dear Nico,_

_Hello! I'm sorry we have to resort to contacting you in this way, but I really can't find any other way of getting a message to you. Anyways, Hades would like me to inform you that your fighting that dragon was really stupid and you should've left well enough alone, but I personally think that it was quite dashing. You should really try using a better weapon next time, though. Keep up the good work!_

_Sincerely,_

_-Hecate (and the other gods)_

Nico sighed. Not that he could've really expected anything better from his father.

Shrugging, Nico put aside the letter, and then began to eat the food. He saw another piece of paper lying next to the platter and picked it up, reading the note with growing alarm.

_With love from Parvati Patil_

_Sleep well! XXOOXX_

Even worse than that, the parchment was pink. Then Nico realized something even worse than that; it wasn't the parchment that was turning pink.

His eyes had become tinted with pink, just like that other time, long ago...

* * *

_Nico had been nervously waiting outside the cabin, trying to hide the fact that his skin was slowly turning blue. Eventually, Rose, child of Aphrodite, returned with a potion in her hand._

"_Is that it?" Nico asked._

"_Yep. This should definitely cure you." She said, handing it to Nico. Instantly he realized that something was wrong. His vision started to go pink._

"_YOU!" He realized, seeing the smirk on her face. "You did this- Rose how could you! I TRUSTED you!" Rose began to giggle as Nico doubled over._

"_What did you do to me?" He asked._

"_Oh, nothing lasting. Just a widow wuv potion, and of course that skin changing serum, which should wear off in about a week." She giggled, and then her face hardened into a sneer. _

"_And to think, you actually thought that I would want to go out with you." She laughed cruelly, seeing Nico's immense anguish. "Well, have fun kissing that tree over there. I'm gonna go report this to Drew. She'll get a real kick out of this one." She walked away, giggling, leaving Nico cursing on the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks. Mercifully, he blacked out before the love potion kicked in._

* * *

"NOT AGAIN!" Nico stated, coming back to the present. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD APHRODITE!" He yelled. Madame Pomfrey, alarmed, rushed over.

"Di Angelo, what is wrong?" He pointed at the food.

Madame Pomfrey raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you really hate eggs that much-"

"Not. The. Eggs. Love. Potion." Nico ground out.

Madame Pomfrey's eyes widened as she noticed the note. She immediately rushed off to grab ingredients for the counter potion, leaving Nico to fight with the potion.

Nico strained against it, battling its seductive tones with ones of hatred and sorrow. It put up a thought about how beautiful Parvati's eyes looked.

He countered with the thought of the day he learned his sister had died.

It retaliated with thoughts of how wonderful Parvati was to people in need.

Nico countered with the fields of punishment.

It brought up a picture of Parvati in a dress at a party, laughing, her hair falling down her back in beautiful locks...

Nico remembered Rose.

The battle went on and on. Just when Nico felt that he was getting the upper hand, a girl burst in. "Madame Pomfrey, I heard that my beloved Nico has been poisoned! I must see him!"

Glancing over, Nico saw the last person he wanted to see: Parvati Patil.

The potion began to win over. "Oh, Parvati, my belo- NO! SHUT UP, GET OUT!" Nico slammed the back of his head against the wall, and his skull lit up with pain.

Parvati rushed over, confused. George had assured her that this would bring any boy to their knees for her. Why wasn't it working?

"Nico?" She asked, seeing his eyes glazed over with anguish. Suddenly his eyes focused, and Nico glared at her with the fury of a supernova. Parvati yelped and jumped back.

"Get. AWAY. **FROM. ME!**" Nico yelled.

Madame Pomfrey rushed back with a small, black potion and thrust it into Nico's face.

"Open." She said firmly.

Nico opened his mouth and felt the cool, dark liquid flow down his throat.

A few moments later, Nico's vision cleared up. Madame Pomfrey and Parvati were staring at him intently.

Nico sat up suddenly, startling the two witches, and glared at Parvati.

"Get out before I throw you out." Nico growled.

Parvati, crestfallen that her plan hadn't worked, rushed out hurriedly.

Nico laid back again. Madame Pomfrey waited for a moment to see if he would say anything, but when nothing was forthcoming, she headed off to continue her rounds.

When Nico was satisfied that she was gone, he sat up again, feeling a bit weak from his exertion. He reached over to the table and picked up the ambrosia cake. Nico eyed it for a moment, wondering if it would be enough to overdose on. Shrugging, Nico bit into the cake that tasted like Italian caramel Gelato, just like his mom had fed him when he was a kid... or at least Nico was pretty sure that was what it was. He had no real way of knowing.

Nico felt much better, although a little warm, and decided to sleep for a while, just to give Madame Pomfrey a little less reason to believe that he'd miraculously recovered.

When Nico opened his eyes, the hall had become dark, and he could see the beautiful night sky through the tall windows. Nico cursed, realizing that he'd actually fallen asleep.

Nico got up from the bed silently, a little bit unsteady from not walking for... how long had it been? A day? A week?

Nico suddenly felt a draft of cold air, and shivered. Looking down, he discovered that he was dressed only in blue hospital pajama pants. Baby blue, the next worse thing from pink.

Nico almost wanted to tear them off, but he didn't see his regular clothes anywhere in the area, so he decided that he was stuck with this abomination for now. He was glad to find that his ring was still around his finger (like they could get _that_ off).

Nico glided silently across the hospital wing floor, almost seeming to meld with the shadows. He had only made it to the door when he heard a quiet _pat_, like the sound of a bare foot hitting a stone floor. Nico froze.

It had come from the other side of the door.

Nico heard it again, and saw the door handle that he was about to grab begin to turn.

Nico swiftly but silently drew back into the shadows next to the door, nervously fingering his ring. The door swung open silently, and Nico tensed up, preparing for a fight.

Through the door walked a person. Nico couldn't make out the person's face... but it was a girl, shorter than most. Her white nightgown stood out from the shadows and billowed behind her as she walked, and her long blond hair drifted lazily along behind her. Her steps made almost no sound, so quiet that most mortals would swear she made no sound at all.

Nico was struck, for a moment, at how angelic she looked. After watching her for a moment, though, he decided to confront the figure.

Nico made his way stealthily along the hall behind her, passing from shadow to shadow with well-practiced ease. Ducking behind a bed that she was about to pass, he waited until the figure had gone by, then closed the distance between them, silent as the dead.

Reaching out, Nico tapped the girl on the shoulder.

Suddenly, she whirled around, eyes flying open. Nico stared. For a moment, they had flashed... green. Then Nico blinked and they were grey, which was when Nico recognized the intruder.

"Luna?" He asked.

Luna had been having a pleasant dream about a dirigible plum when she was suddenly yanked back into consciousness. Feeling a bit dizzy, Luna thought she heard someone say her name, and then she was overcome by dizziness. She felt herself begin to fall, and suddenly was caught by very strong arms.

"Luna?" She heard again, and this time she was sure she heard it. She blinked a couple of times and her head suddenly cleared up as if it was a puzzle peace fitting back into place. Luna opened her eyes and nearly had a heart attack.

She had somehow managed to sleepwalk all the way down to the hospital wing and it was still late at night, judging by the shadows from the moon, but that wasn't the part that really surprised her. The person who had caught her was none other than Nico di Angelo, the boy who had saved her from the dragon, in nothing but hospital wing pajama pants. The moonlight lit up half his chest and face, glimmering off his raven hair, illuminating well-defined muscles and some scars, while the other half of him was clouded by darkness. Luna felt something stir inside her and suddenly part of her mind violently wanted him to lean down and kiss her, while the other half of her mind protested, extremely alarmed.

Luna could make out a small frown on his face under his deep eyes. "Um, Luna, what are you doing here? It's kind of late."

Luna swallowed, fighting down the rebellious portion of her mind. She realized that he was still supporting her and quickly stood back up, a blush almost surfacing on her face. What was wrong with her?

"Oh, nothing really. I sleepwalk, you see, all around the castle."

Nico shrugged. He didn't see any other reason that she would walk down here with her eyes closed, as he doubted that she was desperately after his heart. Still, though...

"Do your eyes, um, ever change color when you sleepwalk?" Nico asked.

Luna laughed and gave him a small smile, and Nico suddenly felt very foolish. "What an odd idea!" Her expression changed as she pondered for a moment. "Although... I suppose I wouldn't really have any way of knowing, would I?"

Nico stood awkwardly as she continued to think. After a moment, Nico decided to change the subject.

"So, um, thank you for helping me take down that dragon. I would've been roasted if you hadn't stepped in." Nico said, not used to thanking people.

Luna's eyes widened. "You don't need to thank me. You saved me, not the other way around!" She protested.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? That dragon would've incinerated me with fire and crunched on my charcoaled bones if you hadn't blasted it in the face with that wand of yours."

Luna was very surprised. She didn't see herself as having helped at all. Both of her spells had proven fairly useless. "Still, though, I wasn't brave enough to charge it." She argued. "Anyways," she continued, trying to get off the subject, "have you been healing up well? You have been in here for about two weeks."

Nico groaned. If it had been two weeks, everyone was already way ahead of him in his respective classes, and everyone would've heard about his 'heroic' dragon fight.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked, and Nico snapped back to attention, not used to people paying attention to his expression.

"Well... I just kind of worried about, um, people thinking I'm a hero or something." Nico responded haltingly.

"But you are a hero." Luna responded. Nico scowled.

"That's up to interpretation. What I'm really worried about is being assaulted by _half the girls in the school_." Nico said exasperatedly.

"You mean the ones with brain rot?" Luna asked.

Nico stared at her for a moment, then laughed. "No, I wish. Well, actually I don't, but it might be a bit less annoying." Nico sighed. "So far I've had a crowd of them sneak in here and try to kiss me, then leave a note and lipstick kisses on my skin in permanent, bright, PINK." Nico said the word with a look of pure hatred on his face. "Then one of them poisoned my food with a love potion earlier today. I honestly worry for my safety."

Luna was giving Nico an odd look. Nico continued, "I know, why would I be annoyed that girls are throwing themselves at me? I really can't stand it, though. I'm not exactly a people person."

Nico stopped for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Actually... I don't think I've ever talked to anyone for this long before."

They stood silent for a moment, contemplating each-other. Suddenly, both of them looked up as they heard loud footsteps coming from outside the door, getting closer.

Nico reached over to Luna and pulled her into the shadows. He closed his eyes and willed them to surround her, cloaking her in night. Then Nico leaped over the nearest bed and climbed into his own, quickly going slack in an excellent impression of a sleeping person.

Luna was very alarmed when Nico shoved her into the shadows, and was later grateful that she didn't make any sound.

Looking down, she noticed that the shadows seemed to stick to her, and was alarmed to not be able to see her own body beneath the darkness.

She glanced up when she saw the person, or people as she now realized, enter the room.

She could tell just by their figures that they were Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey, and they were talking quietly, but loud enough that Luna could easily hear them.

"It's just... well, Albus, I haven't been able to heal many of his wounds because of the dragonfire, so it should've taken him around two months to recover, not two weeks! Also, his skin could only be that pale from being underground for very long periods of time, and Albus, he cursed to a Greek god! A Greek god, for goodness sake! I'm telling you, Albus, he isn't natural." Madame Pomfrey sounded very worried.

"Poppy, I can assure you I will get to the bottom of this. In any case, if the boy has recovered as much as you say he has, we will be able to ask him some questions." The pair stopped in front of Nico's bed. Dumbledore reached towards Nico, but suddenly Madame Pomfrey reached out an arm to stop him.

"Albus, unusual or not, this patient is resting. I'm afraid waking him is quite out of the ques-" She said, but was suddenly interrupted when Nico gave a loud sigh.

The wizard and witch stepped back, alarmed, as Nico sat up, bored frown on his face. "Alright, what do you want?" He asked, impertinently.

Madame Pomfrey gave a little gasp. "T-the scar..." She pointed at Nico's chest. The scar burned in by dragonfire had disappeared as if by magic.

"What scar?" Asked Nico innocently.

Dumbledore locked eye contact with Nico. "Mr. Di Angelo, we are simply curious about your origins, and why you are at this school."

Nico gave Dumbledore a gaze of furious defiance. "That's kind of foreward, but whatever. I'm afraid that I do not have the authorization to tell you anything. You may write back to my school if you wish." He finished coldly.

Dumbledore fought an invisible battle with Nico for a few moments before giving in. "If you must. I do warn you, however, there are many more people who will not be as respectful of your privacy." Dumbledore turned to leave, a stuttering Madame Pomfrey behind him.

After they had gone, the shadows cloaking Luna dissipated, and she went back over to where Nico was sitting on his bed.

"How did you-" Luna began.

"I can't tell you." Nico quickly interrupted, pained expression on his face.

The gazed at each other for a moment. "Well... goodbye then, I suppose." Luna said. She turned and walked away, and Nico watched her until she disappeared behind the door.

Laying back on his bed, Nico wondered to himself:

What in Hades have I gotten into?


	10. Defense Against the Dark Arts

**Hey, guys! So, sorry this is kinda short and I've taken way to long to update. School stuff gets in the way a lot. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

When Madame Pomfrey finally let Nico out of the Hospital wing later the next day, he only had one class left to go to: Defense against the dark arts.

As Nico walked down the halls he could feel the people around him staring at him and whispering to each other. Deciding not to take notice, he eventually made it to potions, where he found Luna sitting at the back of the room next to the only open seat, and Nico hurriedly took it.

"Hi." Nico whispered.

Luna glanced over at him, her wide eyes conveying surprise. "Oh, hello. I didn't realize you had this class."

Nico gave her a small smile. "Good to see you too. So, who teaches this cla-"

"Silence." A voice said, cutting Nico off. The sound carried to the back of the room, yet still managed to sound immensely bored. "Everyone sit down. Class started exactly two minutes ago, so I suggest you quiet down before you start losing points."

Nico looked over to see a pale man with greasy hair and dark clothing. He felt a strange, faint aura of undeath emanating from the man's arm.

Snape looked over at Nico with contempt in his eye, and Nico inwardly bristled. He knew right away that they were not going to get along.

"So," Snape began contemptuously, "the heroic dragon-slayer finally decides to show up."

Nico returned his gaze evenly. He wasn't going to let something so petty get to him. "I didn't kill a dragon. I just did what I had to." He responded.

Snape sneered. "Ah, yes. You'll find that your house is notorious for their attention seeking ability."

Nico was beginning to get a little annoyed with this man. Before he could respond, however, Luna spoke up.

"He did save many people, professor." She said softly. Snape turned on Luna, and his sneer widened.

"Yes, he 'saved' you all from a monster that mysteriously went rogue, against all expectations, almost as if it had been tampered with. I suppose you view him as a savior, then, Loon- miss Lovegood." Snape finished, giving Luna a slightly pitying stare that implied she wasn't smart enough to understand.

Nico suddenly found himself very angry, and not sure why. "No, you're wrong, _sir_. It was the other way around. _She _saved_ me_."

Snape turned back to Nico. "Oh, jumping valiantly to her defense, are we, _hero_?" Snape scoffed. "I personally doubt you _actually_ did anything."

Luna suddenly stood up. "Nico _is _a hero! He's brave, not something you're familiar with, _sir_." She said, a bit of anger seeping into her voice. The rest of the class, who had been staring at this in silence, all turned surprised looks at her.

Snape wore an expression of sheer rage. "Twenty points from Ravenclaw, Miss Lovegood." He ground through clenched teeth.

Nico stood up and glared at Snape. "With all due respect, _sir_, you have not given us an example of your _immense_ courage, sir, even with your extremely _brave_ counter to a schoolgirl's insult, _sir._"

Snape looked like he was about to explode, but suddenly he relaxed and the sneer returned to his face. "Well then, _hero_, we should get on with today's lesson in unspoken spell casting, and I just happen to need a volunteer. What tremendous luck we have to have a great _hero_ like yourself to demonstrate this for us."

Nico's rage suddenly cleared away as he remembered that he had no idea how to cast a spell, let alone an unspoken one. Not showing his nervousness, he walked down to the area at the front of the classroom. The other students looked on, some eagerly and some pityingly. Nico drew out his wand, and the feeling of it in the palm of his hand reassured him.

When he reached the front, Snape directed him to stand opposite him. Snape began to speak.

"Now, today we shall continue with the simple blocking spell. I," Snape sneered. "Will cast an unspoken attack spell. The boy here will attempt to block it." Snape turned to face Nico. "Ready, then?" He asked contemptuously.

Nico stood, trying to copy Snape's stance. He focused in on Snape, and his combat reflexes went on overdrive.

Suddenly, Snape flicked his wand, and a jet of red light shot out. For Nico, time seemed to slow down. Instinctively, Nico just turned slightly and the spell shot past him. Nico looked back and saw the class staring at him, Snape wearing an expression of surprise that he quickly hid.

"What?" Nico said.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Di Angelo. You were supposed to _block_ the spell, not dodge it. Again." Snape said, and resumed his stance.

Nico turned back to snape, but as he was still getting ready Snape's wand flicked three times and three jets of white light shot out.

Without thinking, Nico flicked his wand and an odd word, _protego, _popped into his mind. The three jets smashed into an invisible barrier that popped up in front of Nico.

Snape looked confused. He tried again, but Nico let his impulse guide him and Snape's spells couldn't penetrate the barrier of his shield. Eventually, Snape stopped, sweat covering his brow. Nico, taking it as his cue to leave, turned and began to walk back to his seat.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw Snape send another spell towards him. Nico didn't even have time to lift his wand, and his instincts took over. The light projectile slammed into a barrier of shadow, dissipating entirely.

Everyone in the class, including Snape, stared at Nico with shock. Realizing what he'd just done, Nico cursed inwardly, then forced himself to walk back to his seat, grab his things without making eye contact with a wide-eyed Luna, and walk out of the room.

Later on, Nico stood in front of the mirror in an abandoned bathroom.

_Damn, damn, damn! How could I be so stupid?_ He thought to himself. _Using shadow magic in front of fifty people who have never seen any other form of magic? Stupid! I can't blow my cover like that._

Nico's thoughts were interrupted when a spooky sounding voice came from up above. _"Leave this place now, mortal, or face eternal dooooooooom!"_

Nico looked up, frowning. If there was one thing that could ruin his day...

"Uh, yeah, no." He responded.

"_Why not?_" a voice said, sounding like a disappointed child. A spectral figure of a girl in a Hogwarts uniform floated down. "_I thought I was being so scary that time..._" She suddenly froze, realizing who she'd been talking to. "_A-a son of L-l-lord H-hades_!" She made her best attempt to kneel on the ground_. "_ _P-please, don't send me down there! It's scary!"_ She begged.

"Save it. You'd be better off in the underworld." Nico looked he over for a moment. "You were murdered, right? You actually might qualify for Elysium, maybe, if you did a lot of good deeds during your life... although, it looks like you have haunted someone to death, so maybe no-" Nico realized that the ghost had fled the room. He sighed.

"I hate when they do that." He muttered as he walked back to the common room.


	11. Friends and Enemies

Over the next few weeks, Nico tried to lay low, but it didn't fully work. Whenever he walked through the halls, people still whispered at his passing. Defense Against the Dark Arts had only grown worse as time passed, Snape becoming more and more hostile by the day. Luckily, Nico had also grown used to his wand. He suspected that Hecate had given him magical instincts so he could get by in the wizarding world. The only thing that Nico didn't know how to deal with was Luna.

The day after DADA, Luna had caught him as he left the common room.

"Morning." A voice said from directly behind Nico. He was so startled that he dropped his book bag and had his wand pointed at her face in an instant.

Luna frowned slightly. "Do you always do that when someone says good morning?" She asked.

Nico hurriedly pocketed his wand. "Oh, um... sorry." He quickly picked up his bag. "I kind of... startle easily."

He began to walk down the corridor towards the grounds, and Luna fell into step with him. They were silent for a moment.

"So..." Luna asked tentatively. "Where are you from?"

Nico eyed her suspiciously, but decided she'd earned the benefit of the doubt.

"Well... a while ago I lived in Washington, D.C." Luna gave him a questioning look. "Our capital. Then, I got shuffled through a couple of boarding schools... for a while I lived in L.A., then New York. Now I mostly just travel a lot, working for my dad." Nico glanced over and saw Luna's puzzled expression.

"How do you work for your dad if you're in school most of the year?" She asked.

Nico cursed inwardly. Why did he keep slipping up to this girl?

"I... um, my school is only, well..." Why was he so tongue-tied? "We only have school over the summer." He answered lamely. He could see in Luna's eyes that she didn't believe him.

Luna could tell that he was holding back the truth for a reason, and his eyes looked apologetic, so Luna tried her luck with another question.

"So... how do you control the shadows?" She whispered.

Nico paused for a moment, glancing quickly over at her and back. "I... don't know what you're talking about." Nico's voice sounded unconvinced, even to him.

Luna cocked an eyebrow, and Nico realized he had just confirmed her suspicions. He glanced around at the other people in the corridor, and made his decision.

"Not here." Nico whispered hurriedly.

Nico began to walk faster, and Luna had to jog a little to keep up. When they had reached an unoccupied corridor, Nico slowed down. Luna was panting, but Nico's breath was barely susceptible. After a moment, Luna spoke up.

"Please tell me." Luna asked quietly.

Nico gazed resignedly at her from the corner of his eye. "You... I... well..." he closed his eyes and sighed. "Let's just say I was born with it. That's the truth. It's more complicated, but I can't give you any details. I made a promise to my dad."

Luna took this in for a moment. If Nico was born with powers like that, hiding it would be a good idea. Wizards weren't very accepting of anything that they didn't know.

"I can understand why you'd hide it from most wizards, but you can trust me not to tell anyone." Luna looked into his eyes. "Really, you can."

Nico was taken a bit aback by the honesty in her voice. "Oh... thanks." He gazed back at her, and seriousness returned to his voice. "You can't tell anyone. No one."

Luna mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key.

"So, to class, then?" Luna said, her normal dreamy self. "Hopefully no dragons this time. That would just be dreadful."

Nico had to smile, and his anxiety went away. Her presence seemed to lighten the world, and Nico realized suddenly that he actually had a friend in this stuffy school of magic.

They walked to Care of Magical creatures in comfortable silence.

* * *

As the weeks went by, Luna was constantly near Nico. It seemed to him that wherever he turned, she was usually there. For some reason, though, he didn't really mind. She sat next to him in every class, making odd comments about teachers and students and slowly wearing Nico down.

At the beginning of the year Nico would've never mentioned anything about his relationship with his dad to anyone, but he found himself telling her about how demanding he was and how they fought a lot. She always seemed so understanding, it was hard for Nico to not tell her things about his life. She stated everything very frankly, telling him about her mother, her father, and her friends. She didn't guard anything about herself.

Nico kept the most important secret even from her. He wouldn't betray his father or the gods to someone he'd only met recently, even someone like Luna. At least, that's what he told himself.

Nico didn't realize that people were watching them with suspicion.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched from across the Transfiguration classroom as Nico broke out in discreet laughter at something Luna had just said. They had been spying on Nico for weeks, and Hermione was still convinced that he was hiding something.

"It doesn't make any sense!" Hermione whispered to them. "There is no wizarding school in America! He comes here, all dark and arrogant, and he's put in Gryffindor!? Is it just a coincidence that a boy from a school that really doesn't exist who looks like a death eater shows up in your house, Harry?"

Ron looked back at her exhausted. "Hermione, we've been at this for weeks. The kid hasn't shown anything even close to a connection with death eaters. Can't we give it a rest?"

"No!" Hermione whispered furiously. Ron and Hermione began to argue.

Harry sighed. Harry and Ron had been satisfied with Nico not being a death eater after the second week of observation, but Hermione persisted, saying that he was making friends with Luna to try and get close to Harry. Harry didn't see why they couldn't be friends without a reason, and he didn't see why there couldn't be a wizarding school in America. Hermione disagreed.

'Maybe the trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow will cheer me up.' He thought to himself.

* * *

The long corridor was lit only by torches, and at midnight they cast long shadows. In one of these shadows crouched three boys, two hulking and one slim.

"Do you understand the plan?" Malfoy whispered .

Crabbe and Goyle stared at him Uncomprehendingly. Molfoy rolled his eyes.

"Alright, do you know what to do?" Crabbe cracked his knuckles and Goyle smiled dumbly. "I'll take that as a yes, then. Quick, here she comes!"

Luna walked slowly down the corridor, her eyes drooped closed, apparently asleep. She was having the most wonderful dream, about a giant dirigible plum soaring above Scotland, when something woke her. The strange sense that always alerted her to danger was telling her that there was danger here.

Luna was disoriented for only a moment, and in that moment three figures rushed out of the shadows. Luna drew her wand but almost as she drew it the slimmest figure said "Expelliarmus." And her wand flew out of her hands. The three figures circled around her menacingly.

Luna recognized the voice immediately. "Malfoy, what are you doing? Isn't the Slytherin common room on the other side of the castle?" She asked, calmly.

Malfoy looked a bit taken aback. "We, well, _we're _asking the questions here, Loony!" Malfoy stepped closer so his wand was right under Luna's throat. "Now, tell me _everything_ you know about Nico di Angelo."

Luna held Malfoy's gaze contemptuously. "No." She said, in a singsong voice.

Malfoy looked even more taken aback. "I'm standing here, threatening you with a wand! Tell me what you know!"

Luna focused her gaze over Malfoy's shoulder and blankly stared off into the distance.

Malfoy's face turned a maroon color as dark as blood. "ANSWER ME!" He practically shouted into her face.

Luna didn't respond.

"Very well, then." Malfoy turned to Crabbe. "Restrain her."

Luna had no time to shout as Crabbe's _immobulus_ hit her and she fell to the ground. Malfoy withdrew a small vial of silvery liquid from his pocket.

"If you had just told me, I wouldn't have had to use this." Malfoy smiled anxiously as he poured the veritaserum into Luna's mouth. "Release her." Malfoy commanded.

Luna stood up shakily. Malfoy sneered at her. "Now," he began, "Tell me everything you know about Nico di Angelo."

Luna told them. When she was done, Malfoy pointed his wand in her face once more. "Now, when you wake up, this will all have been just a horrible dream." The last thing Luna was conscious of was a blast of white light, and the world was dark.


	12. Revelations

Luna woke to the feeling of a chill wind. Gasping, she sat up.

She was outside, at the bottom of the steps in the courtyard that led into the castle. She realized that she was still only in her nightshirt and suddenly the cold hit her. Shivering, she quickly got up and ran over to the doors and went inside. As she walked back to the common room, she tried to remember how she had gotten to the courtyard in the first place, but her memories were hazy and veiled, defying all attempts to approach them.

As she entered the Ravenclaw common room, she remembered that today was Hogsmeade day, and that cheered her up. 'I probably just sleepwalked there anyways.' She thought.

* * *

Nico was lying in his bed, thinking. He had heard about Hogsmeade earlier, and while he didn't exactly want to look around the joke shop or drink at the pub, it was out from under the canopy of the magical barrier of Hogwarts, so he could contact the gods. However, that also meant that it was open to monster attacks... but he could probably handle anything local. Still, Nico had a feeling that going to Hogsmeade could go wrong, but he really had no choice. He had to contact the gods and tell him what he'd learned about the wizards.

Luna caught up with Nico as the main crowd of students filed out of the front doors.

"Morning, Nico!" She said brightly as she fell into step beside him. Nico turned and smiled, having become used to her sudden appearances.

"Morning, Luna. Sleep well?" He asked.

Luna gave a small frown. "I'm... not really sure. I woke up in the courtyard."

Nico frowned. "The courtyard? Do you think you sleepwalked out there?"

"I suppose so... but it doesn't feel quite right. I remember weird hazy, dark figures... I suppose it might've been a nightmare, but I've also never sleepwalked outside before." Luna glanced over at Nico and saw his concerned and brooding expression.

"Still," she said quickly, "probably just a nightmare."

Luna continued to talk about little things, making remarks that could usually rouse a small smile from Nico, but he didn't really respond. Eventually, Luna stopped for a moment, and asked quietly, "Nico... what's wrong?"

Nico glanced back at her, making an attempt at a smile. "Nothing, nothing. I'm fine." The truth was, though, he wasn't fine. Nico had had a small voice in the back of his mind warning him to not get too close, that making friends was a bad idea. Now it was right up front, and Nico knew that even telling Luna what little he had had made her, and himself, vulnerable. Nico would never give away his secrets, and could fight off something sent to kill him, but Luna... the thought of Luna facing down a hydra or a hellhound made Nico shudder. Would the gods punish her for what little he had said already? Would the people of her own world use her to obtain information about him? Where they using her already?

Yet all the while Nico was thinking this, there was still the temptation to confide, to tell Luna the whole truth. She was his friend, or at least he thought she was. He hoped beyond hope that he was right, but he still couldn't trust her fully.

Nico began to talk again with Luna, but he kept careful control over what he said. They walked on, and while Luna could still tell that Nico was worried about something, she decided not to comment, and they walked comfortably but uneasily to Hogsmeade.

* * *

Hermione was convinced that Nico was up to something. The three friends sat in the Three Broomsticks, trying to watch Nico and Luna without either of them noticing. Harry was bored and was reading more from his potions textbook, which held many useful and intriguing notes from someone called 'The Half Blood Prince'. Ron and Hermione, as usual, were bickering.

"Look, Hermione, I found your wizarding school in America, called 'Salem institute for-something'. So he's probably from there, yeah?" Ron said with finality.

"Right, Nico is definitely from the Salem institute for Witches. Honestly, Ron!"

As Ron and Hermione bickered, Harry noticed something. "In case either of you care, Nico is leaving."

"What?" Hermione said, her gaze snapping back to where Nico and Luna had been sitting. Nico had stood up, and was beginning to walk away. Luna looked confused, and a bit crestfallen.

"Easy, Hermione," Ron said, "he's probably just going to the toilet."

Sure enough, Nico did go in that direction. Right after he closed the door, Luna got up and went out the front door.

"See, there you go Hermi-Hermione?" Ron looked around, but Hermione was gone. Harry stood up. "She took my invisibility cloak!" He whispered anxiously. "She's probably trying to see what Nico is up to. Come on, let's check and see if he's in there."

Harry and Ron entered the restroom, but they found it empty, and the back window open. "C'mon!" Harry said, and they climbed through.

* * *

Luna had followed Nico for at least half an hour, from a distance so far he wouldn't have noticed her. She wanted to now what was going on. All he'd said was that he needed to talk to someone, and that he needed to do it alone. He'd been acting distant and brooding all morning, and she was beginning to worry about him.

Suddenly, the space opened up into a clearing, and Luna realized she was only a couple of yards away from where Nico was standing. The clearing was large, and the only person there was Nico. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

Suddenly, there was a burst of golden light, and another figure appeared. She was rather short, with long black hair, and Luna felt like she had seen her somewhere before... and then the memory struck, like a lighting bolt. Luna let out a gasp and quickly hid behind a tree. Could it really be her? That woman who had tried to control her family, who had led them to-

Luna could hear them talking. "...your father is not pleased at all. You cannot become so close to this girl, it will distract you from your mission."

"No it won't. I'm not being distracted enough to cause problems. I have analyzed the wizards combat abilities and stability to an extent, but I need more time. If I move too quickly and ask the wrong question-"

"Just stay away from the girl!" The woman's voice had flared up in anger, but calmed quickly. "She is vulnerable, and she may even give you away if she finds out why you're here."

Luna's mind was going into overdrive. Why was Nico here? Was his father working for Voldemort?

Suddenly Luna realized that the conversation had gone quiet. Nico's voice drifted over the clearing. "I know you're here. Come out know, or you will regret it dearly." Nico's words sounded to Luna strangely cold and full of anger, and her heartbeat felt like a drumroll in her chest. A horrible thought occurred to her. Why was Nico speaking to that woman? Was he... working with her? Searching for Luna? The thought was too terrible to bear.

Nico called again. "I can feel your shroud of death, Hermione. Come out. Now."

Luna peered out tentatively. She noticed that the woman seemed to have disappeared (although that didn't guarantee anything), and suddenly Hermione appeared to her left. Luna realized that she had been under the invisibility cloak.

"Why did you follow me?" Nico's voice carried a coldness that Luna had never heard from him before.

"I wanted to know what you're doing. Why you've become such close friends with Luna." Hermione's voice was tinged with suspicion and anxiety.

Luna saw Nico grow annoyed, but she noticed that under what he called his 'don't mess with me' stare, he looked uncomfortable. "What I'm doing is mine to know alone. As for my friendship with Luna, that is absolutely none of your business."

Hermione appeared to become angry. "You think you can just come to Hogwarts and act like you aren't up to something? You don't make any sense! You're from a school that doesn't exist. You're clearly a Slytherin, yet you're in Gryffindor, and you just decide to become best pals with a girl who is clearly a bit off, who just happens to be one of Harry Potter's friends? Did you think we wouldn't notice?"

Nico looked exasperated. "OK, seriously, what in Hades name did Potter do? You people keep vaguely referencing him! And by the way, Luna is not 'a bit off' and she's shown a lot more bravery than any of you Gryffindors!"

Hermione looked confused, then angry. "Don't be daft! There is no possible way you could not know who Harry Potter is! Now I find you talking to a strange woman in the middle of a forest who just disappears in golden light-"

The rest of the sentence died in Hermione's throat. Nico's expression had become a mask of regret and determination that was the most terrifying thing Luna had ever seen."How I wish," he began, putting his right hand on the skull ring, "that you hadn't said that."

Nico drew the skull ring off his finger and suddenly it began to morph. The ring grew wider and wider, and the skull began to rise off of the ring, revealing a smooth black cloth handle underneath, which Nico grasped. The skull began to grow, becoming wider and flatter, becoming a skull shaped guard. The mouth opened wide, and out from its dark depths rose a blade as black as the void that seemed to dim the day around it. In a moment, his skull ring had become a fearsome black and silver gladius, with a skull shaped guard and a large ring of silver for a pommel.

Hermione backed away in fear. Nico motioned with his left hand and suddenly two skeletal arms shot out from the ground, grasping her legs. Hermione screamed and fell to the ground. Two more skeletal hands grabbed her arms, and Hermione was trapped. Nico stood over her, sword in hand.

"I'm sorry, but you know too much. I'll make sure you get to Elysium." Hermione mouthed words back, inarticulate in her terror. Nico raised his blade. He stood there for a moment, and everything was still.

Nico looked into Hermione's eyes, and saw a terrified young girl. His finger's began to tremble as a war was fought inside his soul. Nico's mind told him that it had to be done, that she couldn't let her live after seeing one of the gods... yet something held him back. Something that hadn't been there before stayed his hand, the hand that had sent so many to Hades.

Nico flung the sword onto the snow. He felt the bitter cold of the air for the first time, and was overridden with anger and confusion. He turned to Hermione with an agonized look on his face.

"Why?" he asked quietly. "Why is it that this time I can't? It has to be done! If you live, and you tell, then I'll have failed my mission, my father, my world..." Nico looked at his hands, and realized that almost everyone he had slain in the name of his father had deserved it. They had been murderers, cultists, rapists... people who were barely human. But Hermione didn't deserve to die. Killing Hermione would've made him no better than them.

Nico's hands shook, and his mind went blank, as he realized what he had almost become. He slowly fell to his knees, his hands hugged around himself. Suddenly, behind him, Hecate reappeared. As she walked by him, she put out a hand and gave Nico's shoulder a squeeze.

"There, there. It's alright, you were just doing what you had to." She walked over to where Hermione was trembling in the snow.

"P-p-p-please-" Hermione tried to begin. Hecate put a finger to her lips. "It's alright. Hush, now. This was all just a very bad dream, that I'll make sure you don't remember. Now _sleep_." At Hecate's words, Hermione's eyes closed, and her trembling ceased, replaced by a soft rising and falling of her chest.

Hecate turned back to Nico. "I could do you too, if you like." She said playfully. Nico raised his eyes and stared at her blankly. Suddenly, his blank stare morphed into an accusing glare. "You almost let me-" Nico paused for a moment, shuddering, "k-kill an innocent person when I didn't have to?"

Hecate shrugged. "You looked like you had the situation under control. So," she said, quickly changing the subject, "anyone else around here?"

Nico stood up, shakily. "Can't you check? This is your realm, after all."

Hecate shot him an annoyed look. "Just for that, I won't tell you which monster's coming this way."

Nico shot back to attention, but Hecate had already disappeared. Cursing silently, Nico turned and saw that Hermione had disappeared with her. Concentrating quietly, Nico extended his senses to long-range detection-and got an unfortunate surprise.

"Luna?" Luna heard Nico call her name, and started to run. She didn't care who he worked for, he had almost killed Hermione. Almost worse than that, he had lied to her, and she had thought he was her friend. Luna's eyes began to fill up with tears, but she brushed them away as she sprinted further into the forest. "Wait! Luna, come back!" she heard Nico cry. He sounded closer, like he was gaining on her. She began to run even faster, but the tears began to blur her vision and suddenly her face smashed into snow and dirt. Frantically, she tried to stand back up, but one of her legs was caught on the stump that she'd tripped over. She tried to pull it out but the pain was too great.

"Luna?" She heard Nico say, his voice only a few yards away. "Luna!" She heard Nico shout. Desperately, she tried to pull away one last time, with all her strength, and she felt the splinters that had caught her pants leg give way. She jumped to her feet, but before, she could go anywhere, she felt Nico's hands catch her shoulders.

"Luna, please, wait!" Nico pleaded. Luna elbowed him in the face, but he held on.

Luna continued to try and punch him away, but Nico held on until Luna was too tired to continue. Carefully, he walked around her until they were face to face. Luna's puffy, bloodshot eyes were full of anger and pain, her tears mixed with melting snow and dirt. "You... you lied to me. You almost killed... how could you!"

"Luna..." Nico began.

"I thought you were my friend!" Luna yelled, her words tinged with anger and dejection.

"Luna, I promise you, I am your friend!" Nico said softly.

"You lied to me! You're working with that... that woman!" Luna shot back. "How can you be my friend if you're working for her?!"

Nico looked confused. "What do you mean? Do you know her?"

Luna was skeptical. "Do you really mean to say that you don't know- but you were talking to her, working with her, getting close to me."

Nico stood silent for a moment. He took a deep breath. "Look," he began. "if you let me explain myself, I promise to tell you everything." He let go of Luna's shoulders, and she immediately scrambled backwards. Nico sat down slowly and motioned for Luna to do the same. Luna looked uncertain, so he added, "Please, trust me. Just for now, then do what you will."

Luna sat.

Nico searched for words for a moment, unsure how to begin. "Alright. So, you know about the Ancient Greek gods, right?"

After a moment, Luna nodded.

"Well, they actually exist." He waited for the inevitable disbelief or protest, but none came. Luna Just sat there, staring at him. "That woman back there was Hecate, goddess of magic. The gods rule over their realms,controlling nature and emotions and things like that. There are monsters as well. Sometimes the gods become... infatuated with mortals. The Greek gods were like that in mythology, always falling for random mortals, and they're like that in real life. My father is..." Nico paused. This was the moment of truth. Betraying his father to Luna would set them both on a path that might lead to the wrath of the gods.

"My father is Hades, lord of the underworld and god of death and riches." Luna's eyes widened, then shrank back to their normal, round size.

"That makes sense, assuming that you're telling the truth." She said frankly.

"I can prove it, if you want." Luna shook her head. "Anyways, I was sent here because we just learned about the wizarding world, and the gods are worried." Nico gave her his best apologetic face. "I promise, Luna, I never meant to drag you into this, or to make you think that I wasn't your friend." Nico looked down at the ground. "Being the son of Hades... you don't make a lot of friends."

Luna looked at him, and a part of her wanted to go over there and tell him that she was still his friend and that she believed him, but that part of her that remembered him holding the sword above Hermione's chest held her back. Nico was the son of death. Then again, he had stayed his hand, and looked very remorseful for what he had almost done.

"Say... say I believe you. What happens now?" Luna said tentatively.

"Well... I've told you my secret. Can we still be friends?" Nico asked tentatively.

Luna took a deep breath. "Alright. Just... don't you ever try to kill one of my friends again. Okay?"

Nico actually smiled at her, then frowned. "I don't want to push you but... could you tell me why you hate Hecate so much?"

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly Nico sat up strait. "Damn!" He cursed. "That monster is getting close!"

He leapt to his feet. Luna stood up too. Nico turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. Looking into her eyes, he said, "Stay here." A note of worry entered his voice. "Please." Nico turned and rushed off into the forest.

Luna yelled after him, but he didn't reply. She stood there for a moment, debating with herself, and then came to a decision. Luna Sprinted after Nico, back through the darkening forest.


	13. Escape from Hogsmeade

As Nico raced through the forest, he carefully analyzed the aura of the monster he sensed. Or monsters, as it were. There were three of them, and he had never felt anything like them before. They radiated fear and despair, and their presence seemed ethereal, like ghosts. Nico felt a tinge of unease, but wasn't sure why.

Suddenly, Nico was in the clearing. He lurched to a halt as he saw what faced him. Three dark, spectral figures floated silently in the middle of the clearing. They had hoods over their heads, so Nico could not see them, but he felt suddenly afraid. These things felt unfamiliar to him, and their aura was like a mini black hole, sucking warmth from the land around them. Nico carefully edged over to his sword and knelt to pick it up. His fingers grasped the handle.

Then one of them turned its hood to face him, and the world dissolved to pain.

Luna ran through the forest, not entirely sure why she was doing this. Why was she still following him? She couldn't still be worried about him, Not after what he'd done. Yet however irrational, no matter what she told herself, she could still feel a connection with Nico.

Then she was back in the clearing, and in front of her was a scene out of a nightmare.

The first thing she saw were the three dementors, closing in on-

Nico.

Luna's wand was out in a moment. "_Expecto Patronum_." She said, but happy thoughts refused to come.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" She said again. The dementors drew closer and closer to Nico.

Then she thought of Nico. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" And out of her wand leapt her patronus, a hare of pure white, scattering the dementors and pushing them out of the clearing.

Luna quickly rushed over to Nico. He was curled up on the ground, shuddering, his eyes open but unseeing, clutching his sword with a death grip. "Nico?"

"B-bianca..." Nico said through chattering teeth.

Luna quickly rummaged through her bag and found a chocolate frog.

"Here," she said, "eat this." She offered the frog to Nico, but he made no move to take it. Luna grimaced, then picked up her wand. "_Apertum os_." She muttered. Nico's mouth opened. Luna placed the chocolate frog gently in his mouth. "_Claudere os_." She muttered, and his mouth closed.

After a moment, Nico's eyes focused again. "Luna? What... what just happened?"

"You got attacked by dementors. I've never seen someone react like that before besides Harry."

Nico groaned. "Since no one else is telling me, would you mind filling me in on the whole Harry Potter situation?"

Luna smiled softly. "It feels very odd to actually have to tell someone about this. Everyone in the wizarding world knows. So, several years ago, there was a huge war between the wizards as a whole and a man named lord Voldemort. He and his followers, the death eaters-"

Nico chuckled. "Death eaters? Seriously? Why would anyone want to eat death?"

Luna frowned. "They killed thousands of wizards and muggles, tortured many to insanity, and racially purged everyone who was born from muggle parents."

Nico's smile faded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

Luna gave him a small smile. "Do you want me to finish the story or not?"

Nico suddenly realized that Luna was holding his head in her lap. Strangely, he didn't feel uncomfortable.

Luna continued. "Anyways, the war waged for a long time. Voldemort was winning, and the wizarding world was practically under his control. Then one night he went to the Potter's house. He murdered Harry's mother and father, and he tried to kill Harry too, but somehow the curse backfired and Voldemort died instead. Harry was celebrated as the savior of the wizarding world."

Nico sat up and turned to face Luna. His face was solemn. "And now Voldemort has returned, yes?"

Luna 's eyes held a small trace of fear. "Yes."

Nico looked back up at the castle, which was barely visible in the distance. "Sucks to be Harry, then." He said quietly.

He turned back to Luna. "So the Wizards are preparing for another war?"

Luna nodded.

Nico sighed. They sat in silence for a moment. "Back to Hogsmeade, then?" Nico asked.

"Yes. We don't want anyone to miss us. Oh, Nico," Luna's hand flicked past his ear, drawing back with a struggling creature in her hand. "Nargle." She said, her eyes twinkling.

They laughed, and the seriousness of the situation was forgotten as the two friends headed back up to the village.

On the way back, they encountered Harry and Ron.

"What were you doing?" Ron asked suspiciously. "You aren't supposed to be this far away from the castle.

Luna glanced at Nico, but he kept his eyes on Ron. "What a coincidence! Neither are you."

Ron glanced around nervously. "Easy, mate, we're just looking for Hermione."

Nico's mind went blank for a moment. He had no idea what Hecate had done with Hermione. Luckily, Luna was ready. "We met her too. She said she was going back up to the castle. She looked a bit flustered, and her face was a bright tomato color." Luna leaned in conspiratorially. "Personally, I believe she had an encounter with a crumple horned snorkack."

Harry and Ron glanced defiantly at Nico, who held up his hands. "Hey, it's possible. Certainly a lot of monsters in this region."

Harry and Ron gave him an odd look, then headed back up towards the castle. Nico and Luna continued back to Hogsmeade.

As they entered the town, Nico got a weird feeling on the back of his neck.

He glanced around, and then he felt it, right behind him. Careful not to turn his head, Nico looked at the reflections in the shop windows, and saw it. It was actually a her. Katie Bell, a girl he'd been introduced to briefly. The presence was coming from the brown package in her hand, and her eyes were fixed intently on the back of his head.

Nico carefully tilted his head to Luna, who was walking next to him. "Walk ahead. I have something I need to take care of." Luna gave him a concerned glance, but she walked a little faster and got ahead of him.

When he reached a dark alleyway, Nico quickly turned and walked in. When he reached the end, he turned around and waited. After a moment, Katie bell appeared at the other end, brown package still in hand.

"Katie." Nico said. "Why are you following me?"

"A gift." She said, holding up the package. She began to walk closer.

"It's not my birthday. Why are you giving me a gift?" Nico asked. Katie didn't respond. Nico looked into her eyes and saw behind them. He cursed. Katie had been brainwashed.

"Okay, back this up." Katie was getting uncomfortably close, so Nico drew his wand.

"Take it." Katie said.

"Yeah, no." Nico said. He looked back and was confronted with a stone wall. Nico sighed, then flicked his wand across katie's eyes, making her blink, and in that moment he fell back into the shadows.

Luna was waiting for Nico behind the Three Broomsticks. He'd been gone awhile already, and Luna was beginning to worry a little, when she suddenly felt a person right behind her. Nico smiled at her astonished expression.

"You're very sneaky, Nico." Luna's eyes were still wide. "You startled me. You weren't there before... so either you apparated, or... you can travel through the ground?"

Nico was surprised. "Close. Shadows, actually."

Luna nodded. "Death, shadows. That makes sense."

Nico glanced up and down the street, a concerned expression on his face.

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"It's... well, Katie Bell is brainwashed. She's been sent after me." Nico looked back at Luna and saw her worried expression. "Hey, don't worry." He said, giving her a smile he didn't really feel. "I can handle it. I've had worse."

Nico put his arm across Luna's shoulders. "Besides, you'll be here to save me if I get into any trouble. Thanks, by the way." Luna looked up at him, confused. "For what?" She asked.

"Saving my life, again." Nico smiled at her, and Luna could see he meant it this time. She smiled back, and they walked back up to the castle, as the sun began to go down.

Malfoy watched the two figures slowly draw nearer. He'd waited for hours for goth boy and Looney to come down the path, and his toes had started to numb from the cold. Crab and Goyle had been complaining the entire time.

"I think my nose is gonna fall off." Goyle said.

"Malfoy, why can't we use our wands to heat us up?" Crab whined.

"I already told you." Malfoy said, annoyedly. "I've said it three times: heat magic would give us away."

They sat silently in the snow foxhole they'd made 3 meters away from the path.

"Oh, hell." Crabbe pulled out his wand and flicked it, and suddenly they were warm.

Malfoy stared daggers at Crabbe. "Damn it, Crabbe!"

He looked back at the road. The two had stopped, and were looking around alarmedly.

Malfoy drew his wand. "_Stupefy."_ He muttered, pointing his wand at Nico.

At that moment, Luna cried out in alarm and tackled Nico, and both of them fell out of sight under the stone curtain wall.

Malfoy cursed. "Lets get out of here while we can." He muttered, and the three of them scrambled out of the foxhole and down into the forest.

Luna sat up, carefully glanced over the stone wall, and ducked back down. Nico groaned under her, and Luna realized she was straddling him. She quickly got off him, crouching to avoid being seen above the wall.

Nico sat up, holding a hand to his head and grimacing. "That's going to hurt in the morning. Mind if I ask why you tackled me?" he said.

Luna motioned for him to be quiet. "Someone tried to stupefy you." She whispered.

Nico extended his senses, and felt three retreating presences. "Malfoy." He muttered angrily.

Luna looked around concerned. "We should get back to the castle." She said, grabbing Nico's hand and pulling him along.

Nearby, a crow took flight from a branch, winging its way back to report to its master.


	14. The Calm Before the Storm

Voldemort was getting impatient.

"Your plan to capture the boy was foiled... because he had some girl with him?"

Malfoy genuflected so low the tip of his nose touched the cold stone floor. "Y-yes, my lord."

Voldemort kicked Draco in the chest. "Fool! You should've killed the boy, and this girl. Fail me again, and you will die." Voldemort paused. "Why were you planning on capturing this boy, anyways?" he said suspiciously.

Malfoy swallowed nervously. "I-I've heard rumors, my lord, that he has strange powers over darkness."

Voldemort sat back down on his throne. "Interesting..." he said. The hall was silent for a moment.

"Very well. Leave me, I must think on this." Malfoy scrambled to his feet, bowed quickly, and left, along with the other few death eaters that had been in the room.

A voice came out of the shadows. "Your assassin has failed, I would assume?"

Voldemort smiled coldly. "Kelli. I was hoping you would arrive. I would like to know more about this person you wish to be assassinated."

Kelli frowned. "Why?"

"I hear they have, let us say, special powers. I would like to know more." Voldemort said.

Kelli was silent for a moment, weighing the options. At last, she sighed. "Very well. The prey you hunt is a child of a god. Hades, to be specific."

Voldemort laughed. "There are no gods." He said.

"If you believe that, then you are more foolish than I'd thought." Kelli bared her teeth. "The gods are our greatest enemies."

Voldemort thought for a moment. "Hades... Hades is the god of the dead, is he not?"

Kelli nodded.

"If I were to hold death's son captive..." Voldemort began.

"You wish to live forever?" Kelli said.

Voldemort sprang to action. "We will take him alive. Will you still grant me your forces?"

Kelli grinned evilly. "If you wish, we can bypass the school's defenses entirely. My forces can get you in, but your forces must do any fighting that's required."

Voldemort laughed thunderously. "We shall strike tomorrow night!" He proclaimed.

* * *

Nico woke uneasily. He checked his watch and saw that it was only 5:30, A.M.

The day before had been both troubling and pleasing. Nico was happy that he'd been able to tell Luna about his real life and that she hadn't freaked out about him being the child of a god. He was troubled, though, because the gods were probably going to kill him, and Luna already knew and feared Hecate, despite not knowing anything about the gods. In fact, Hecate had seemed very posessive of Luna. Did Hecate have some ulterior motive for sending him here?

Nico got up and left the common room. The school was cold and dark, but Nico didn't mind. Cold didn't affect him very much anymore, and dark was his greatest ally.

Off in the distance, Nico heard footsteps, footsteps he knew very well. He stopped at the end of a corridor, next to a painting of the grim reaper. The footsteps drew closer and closer. Finally Luna came around the corner, but in an instant Nico realized something was wrong. Luna's eyes were open, glaring directly at him, and bright green.

In an instant, Nico had his gladius in his right hand and his wand in his left.

Luna looked at him with an angry expression that looked ugly on Luna's face. "Put down your sword, di Angelo, before I turn it into a rabbit." Said Hecate's voice through Luna's mouth.

Nico felt himself begin to get angry, but he kept careful control of himself. "Hecate, let Luna go. This is unnecessary."

Hecate laughed Luna's laugh, and Nico felt a cold hand close around his heart. "Let her go? Unfortunately, this is the only way I can communicate with you. I did not come here to debate Luna's fate, I came here to debate yours." Hecate drew closer. "Do you realize that all of Olympus is angry at you? Well..." Hecate frowned. "Actually, Aphrodite thinks you're a cute couple, and Ares is excited for another war, but everyone else!"

Nico made himself hold her gaze. "I have absolute trust in Luna. She would never give me away."

Hecate sneered, and Nico was again struck by how ugly and alien Hecate's expressions looked on Luna's face. "It doesn't matter. She has already been compromised, and the Wizards begin to move against you. Also, I have sensed other things, other enemies stirring. It's time to leave, before they take this castle."

Nico's eyes widened. "They're coming to take Hogwarts?"

Hecate cursed. "Uh... no."

Nico got angry. "If there's an enemy coming to Hogwarts, I am going to defend it, especially if that damn death cheater Voldemort is with them."

Hecate sighed exasperatedly and looked up at the sky, wearing an expression of 'not my fault'. "Nico, this world has its own defenders. They can protect their own castle."

Nico glared back at her. "You said other enemies are stirring. Are they monsters?"

Hecate hesitated, and that gave Nico his answer. "They can't handle monsters, and these students here... they're only kids. They can't handle a full on assault from anything."

Hecate was silent for a moment. "Look, I'm just telling you what the gods wishes are." She said.

Nico turned away, and began to walk back down the hall. "Well, you can inform the gods that I will not leave until Hogwarts is safe."

"Hogwarts, or Luna?" Hecate's spiteful words echoed down the hallway. Nico stopped, grimacing, and looked over his shoulder. "I..."

Hecate got angry. "Stay away from her! You are a fool if you think that this would ever work. You've fallen in love with a girl you can never see again."

Nico winced, and his entire world rocked on its foundation. _I... I'm not... There's no way..._ But as Nico thought about it, the more it seemed obvious, and the more it terrified him. _How... When did I fall in love with Luna?_ Nico thought. He recalled all the moments they'd had together, laughing, becoming friends, saving each other's lives...

Nico turned back around, with steel in his voice. "I'm not going to leave, and I will not turn my back on Luna. You might as well get lost."

Hecate glared at him furiously, and raised her hands. Her mouth opened like she was about to cast a spell, but then she stood still for a moment. Then, her hands lowered back down. "You're lucky your father values your life, or you would now be a large top hat."

Suddenly, the green left her eyes, and Luna started to fall forward. Nico rushed to her and caught her before she hit the ground.

Her eyes opened, their brilliant grey gaze piercing into Nico's soul. Her smile made some of his growing dread disappear. "Hey..." Luna said, and then yawned.

Nico's hands were shaking, but he managed to smile back. "Morning."

Luna looked at her surroundings. "Ah... west wing. I once woke up on the roof of this building, you know." She looked back at Nico. "Thank's for catching me."

Nico smiled. "Anytime."

They were silent for a moment. "We'd better go back to our common rooms before Filch catches us." Luna said.

Nico nodded. Luna stood back up, and they each went different ways.

Nico changed out of his black pajamas and back into his favored black jeans, black t-shirt, black socks, black shoes, and aviator jacket. He was still the only one awake, so he sat down in front of the fire. He gazed in, and silently prayed to the gods to give him strength.

Harry was very confused. They'd returned to Hogwarts and found Hermione in the common room, asleep in an armchair. She apparently didn't remember anything about going after Nico, saying she decided after she left the Three Broomsticks to go back up to Hogwarts. It really didn't make any sense.

Harry was deep in thought, and so he didn't see Nico at first. He jumped when he noticed him sitting in front of the fire. "Morning, Nico." He said, cautiously.

Nico glanced up at him, eyes clouded. "Harry." He turned his gaze back to the fire.

Harry walked over to the armchair across from Nico and sat, still watching him cautiously.

Nico sighed. He turned his head to face Harry. "Have you ever seen war, Harry?" Nico asked, his eyes clouded with experience and a tiredness more suiting a 75 year old man than a 15 year old.

Harry was surprised for a moment, and then answered. "I've fought alongside my friends. We fought the death eaters in the ministry of magic."

Nico's expression was pained. "Did you lose any of your friends?"

Harry shook his head. "Why the questions about war? How do you know anything about war?"

Nico chuckled, a dark laugh at an evil joke. "I lost my sister and many friends to a war. We won in the end, but it was close, and most of our enemies will return." Nico turned back to the fire. "Be ready. War is coming, and you must be able to kill or be killed, or you will lose too much."

Harry sat, astonished. "What war? Some muggle war?"

Nico smiled a sad smile, but gave no answer.

Eventually, the rest of the Griffindors came down, and everyone departed for their classes.

For the rest of the day, Nico laughed and talked with Luna, but Luna noticed that Nico was strangely somber.

"Nico, what's wrong?" Luna said, holding his gaze so he couldn't avoid the question. Nico's throat felt dry. "Uh... well... I was just wondering what your connection to Hecate was." Nico said quietly, as they were at the back of the potions classroom.

Luna's expression darkened. "I... I'd rather not talk about it."

Nico's heart was pained to see her unhappy. "Ok, its alright. We don't need to talk about it."

The day wore on, and Nico felt his dread grow with the oncoming darkness. Something was going to happen that night, something huge, something terrible.

After the last class of the day, Nico and Luna came to the place they had to part ways.

Nico looked into Luna's eyes and felt that he might never see her again.

Luna saw that Nico was worried, and had no idea what was going on with him. "Nico, are you okay?" She asked tentatively.

Suddenly, Nico was holding her, and Luna felt a rush of surprise and confusion.

"Nico...?"

"Luna... if I don't see you again..."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I... I just really like you, okay?"

"I... I like you too. But what do you mean, if you never see me again?"

Nico drew back, and Luna felt relieved but oddly longing.

He smiled at her sadly. "It doesn't matter." He walked away down the corridor, leaving Luna confused and strangely melancholy.

* * *

Nico walked to Dumbledore's office. Standing right outside, he used all his willpower to summon Deathknell, and in a moment it appeared in his hand, it's blade darkening the room.

Nico looked outside, and saw that night had fallen.

Then, Nico heard a sound that shook him to his core. It was a scream, a scream that Nico was certain came from Luna.

Nico ran faster than he had ever run before.


	15. Angel of Death

Nico burst into Myrtle's bathroom and knew he was too late. In front of him, Malfoy held his wand to Luna's neck, and Crabbe and Goyle flanked him, their wands pointed directly at Nico. Nico's heart was ice as he met Luna's frightened but defiant gaze.

"So, di Angelo, we've been waiting for you." Draco sneered. "You have an appointment with the dark lord."

Nico put all of his fury into one glare, which seemed to actually destroy Malfoy's confidence. "Let Luna go. Now."

Malfoy chuckled nervously. "Like hell. Come with us, or she dies."

Nico's vision began to go red. "Let her go," he snarled, "or YOU die!"

Nico flipped his sword so it pointed directly into the ground, and grasped the handle with both hands.

Crabbe laughed. "How're you going to kill us? With your sword?"

Nico smiled, but his expression resembled a snarling wolf. "I never said _I_ would kill you." Then he thrust Deathknell into the floor.

Cracks spread like lighting, forming a circle around the three death eaters. The cracks tore wide open. Skeletal hands reached out, pulling themselves out of the abyss.

Malfoy screamed like a little girl. Goyle fainted. Crabbe was hysterical.

"Stoppit! Stoppit!" He shouted waving his wand wildly. His beady eyes focused on Luna. He pointed his wand at her head. "I'll kill her!"

Time slowed down for Nico. He saw Crabbe's mouth making the words that would destroy him, and Nico's heart stopped.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Nico blinked. Luna had disappeared. Her life force was gone, and her body was gone.

Nico broke.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed. "NO! NOO!"

Nico fell to his knees, and wept for one of the only people who he'd ever truly loved.

The dead fell to the ground, their bones clattering. The cracks shut. Malfoy lay on the ground, sobbing and calling for his mother.

Crabbe stood, astonished. "I... I did it. I killed Looney! Hey, crybaby, you're going to the dark lord!"

Crabbe frowned. Nico had suddenly stopped sobbing.

Nico raised his eyes and met Crabbe's. "Her name was Luna." He said, calmly.

"What, Looney?"

Nico rose to his feet. "Her. Name. Was. Luna." He said. Nico grasped the handle of Deathknell and pulled it out of the ground effortlessly.

Nico's eyes were blank, yet they seemed to radiate death. Crabbe backed up as Nico slowly, unstoppably walked forward, the tip of his sword scraping along the stone floor with a sound like an executioner sharpening his axe.

Tears began to gather at the corners of Nico's eyes. "Her name was Luna, and I loved her."

Crabbe pointed his wand at Nico's face, his hand shaking like he was having a seizure. "_A-A-Avada-_" He began, but Nico's sword slashed up like lightning, and Crabbe's hand fell to the ground. Crabbe squealed like a stuck pig, clutching the stub of his hand. He lay there, sobbing, as Nico stood over him.

"You murdered the only person I loved. Now, you will face punishment." Nico lifted his blade, and it paused there a moment. Then the point plunged down. Crabbe made no more noise.

Nico stood silent. Then, all over the castle, there was noise. Screams and shouts drifted down the hallway.

Nico glanced over at the empty space Luna had been, then turned and jogged down the corridor.

* * *

Hermione had been patrolling the corridors on prefect duty when she was attacked by death eaters, and now she was trapped.

Then, suddenly, Nico arrived. He walked calmly past her, strait towards the death eaters.

The death eaters laughed and jeered, and launched _Avada Kedavra's_ at him, but Nico sidestepped them contemptuously. Then, suddenly, Nico fell backwards and disappeared.

Nico reappeared out of one death eater's shadow and, with one slash of his blade, beheaded him. The other death eaters turned around, but Nico's blade was fast as lightning, and the death eaters fell in pieces, their blood staining his black clothing. He raised his hand, and the death eaters started to stand back up.

Nico turned to face her, and Hermione gasped to see that his eyes had turned jet black.

Then he was gone.

* * *

Bellatrix was becoming concerned. "You say we've lost five of our search parties already? That can't be right."

She got up from her seat in the great hall. "What of Dumbledore?"

Rowle sneered. "He's off meeting with the minister."

"Then what-"

The doors of the great hall creaked open.

All seventy death eaters gathered there looked over. What they saw...

Nico di Angelo stood, but he was cloaked in shadow, and his eyes were obsidian. Great black skeletal wings of shadow extruded from his shoulders, and behind him was an army of the dead.

Wordlessly, Nico raised his blade, pointing it at the assembled death eaters, and all hell broke loose as an army of military skeletons and dead death eaters poured through the door, past Nico.

The death eaters panicked, and many of them were torn apart by the onrushing horde. They futilely attempted to blast the zombies, but none of their spells hurt the dead. Any who resisted were brutally, pitilessly slain by the Harbinger. Then, someone unleashed fiendfire, incinerating death eaters and undead alike. Smoke and fire filled the room, and screams of the death eaters that had been caught in the fire died down as the shocked death eaters retreated to the other half of the great hall, where the fiendfire had stopped.

Then out of the smoke the harbinger of death descended.

He willed a giant column of rock to propel him through the air, and as he landed, he spread his wings of shadow and slew every death eater they touched.

His eyes met Bellatrix's, and she knew real terror. "Kill him! KILL HIM!" She shouted, launching spell after spell against him, but nothing could touch him. He disappeared and reappeared so fast he resembled a strobe light, slaying another death eater every time he reappeared. Any spell that came close to hitting him was intercepted by a shield of shadow. The Harbinger of death thrust Deathknell into the ground once more, and more undead began to rise. The harbinger disappeared.

And suddenly, he was behind Bellatrix.

Then, a voice rang out over the destruction. "IF YOU WISH TO SEE YOUR BELOVED AGAIN, STAY YOUR BLADE."

The harbinger paused, blade at Bellatrix's throat. _"__**Kelli**__." _The harbinger began. _**"You have something to offer?"**_

Kelli appeared out of the shadows. "Yes, Nico. I believe you know this girl?"

She snapped her fingers and Luna appeared, frozen in a thin layer of golden light.

The Harbinger gasped, and Nico returned. "She's alive?"

Kelli smirked. "I'll offer you a deal. You come with me, and she's released, safe and sound. Also," she glanced at Bellatrix. "If you kill her, your love dies."

Nico glared at the Empousa. "Swear on the river Styx."

Kelli sighed. "Yes, sure, whatever. I swear."

Nico released Bellatrix, and before she could turn around Kelli snapped her fingers and Bellatrix disappeared.

"Now." Kelli said, holding out her hand.

Nico hesitated for a moment. Then he thought of Luna.

He grasped the Empousa's hand, and they disappeared.

The skeletons and zombies slumped and clattered to the ground, will-less. The fiendfire died. All that remained of the battle were the many charred and mutilated corpses, a burned great hall, and a large column of rock jutting out form the ground.

The golden light around Luna dissipated, and she fell limply to the floor.


	16. Luna's Nightmare

Luna was surrounded by darkness. Then, suddenly, the room she was in was filled with brilliant light. Luna tried to cover her eyes, but then she noticed her hands were invisible. Her entire body appeared to be invisible. Then she noticed the room she was in, and her mysterious invisibility was forgotten.

The room was shaped like a rectangle, and appeared to be some kind of cellar. There were odd, muggle-looking contraptions in a loose circle around the center of the room, and a couple more hanging above, and all of them emitted a piercing light down onto a kneeling figure in the middle of the room.

Luna's heart skipped a beat.

There, kneeling in the center of the room, arms chained to two columns just outside the ring of light, was Nico di Angelo. His head hung low, his dark hair contrasting extremely with his pale skin. Luna couldn't make out his face, but she would know him anywhere. His bare chest looked sickly in this light, like a strange creature from the depths of the earth. His jeans were ragged and torn, and looked burned in places. The chains held his arms taut. They were a strange bronze color that seemed to glow softly. Luna was struck by how tired and vulnerable he looked, and suddenly she felt an urge to protect him.

Luna called out to Nico, but he didn't seem to hear her. Suddenly, a familiar voice whispered in her ear. "He can't hear you, child. You are dreaming."

"Hecate?" Luna said. "So... this isn't really happening, then?" She said, hopefully.

Hecate sighed. "I wish it were. That fool decided to stay back and attempt to protect Hogwarts when leaving would've been much better for everyone. No, I'm afraid this is very real."

Luna felt fear begin to well up in her chest. "W-why is he-" she began, but she was interrupted by the sound of the dungeon door creaking open.

Through the door walked The Dark Lord.

Luna froze, terrified that she would be noticed, but Voldemort walked past her as if she didn't exist.

The door slammed shut, and it echoed in the silence as ominously as a boulder crashing in front of a tomb. In the sudden quiet, the only sound was the footsteps of the Dark Lord.

As Luna's personal terror faded, she looked back at Nico, and it was quickly replaced by a growing dread.

"So... you're the son of death." Voldemort's voice was dripping with mockery. "You certainly look dead."

If Nico heard Voldemort, he didn't acknowledge it. The only movement he made was the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest.

Voldemort slowly drew his wand from the left sleeve of his black robe. He flicked it almost nonchalantly at Nico, and Nico's head snapped violently to the side, as if he'd been punched. Nico slowly turned his head back to where it had been before.

Luna felt as if she'd been punched herself.

"Hah. You'd think someone who was supposed to be the son of a god would be more difficult to hurt." Voldemort chuckled darkly. "No matter. You've cost me many of my servants, and you shall pay for that. Despite that, I still need you alive. After all, if you are truly the son of death, although I think that is highly unlikely, as long as I hold you death will not come for me."

Nico raised his head slowly. When his brown eyes opened, they held only fury and contempt.

"You cannot cheat death. My father could not let you out of the underworld if he wanted to. The fates will decree when you die, and from what I've heard you're going to the fields of punishment."

Voldemort sneered, but something in his eyes betrayed uneasiness. "Fool. I have already cheated death. I am further from death than any other person on this _Planet._"

Nico grinned like a wolf. "That's the thing. The fates frown on those who try to live forever. It has a way of cutting your life much shorter. So, have fun boiling in cheese fondue with Hitler. You'll have a lot to talk about, I'm sure."

Voldemort snarled, and Luna saw Nico had hit a nerve. Silently, she pleaded for him to be careful.

Voldemort flicked his wand again, and Nico's head slammed into the ground. Voldemort flicked his wand up, snapping Nico's head back up, and then Voldemort smashed his head into the ground again.

Luna gasped, and wanted to run to Nico, and shield him from this abuse. Nico tried to sit back up shakily, and managed to get back to a kneeling position, but his eyes were unfocused, and Nico looked like he was teetering on the edge of consciousness. An apple-sized spot on his head was turning a dark shade of purple.

Voldemort grinned. "We will see. For now, I'll leave you in the care of my capable associate. Bellatrix?"

The door creaked back open, and Luna saw Bellatrix Lestrange slip through the door, with an excited, hungry grin on her face. Bellatrix, who Luna remembered, had tortured Neville's parents to insanity.

"My lord." Bellatrix said.

Voldemort disapparated, leaving Bellatrix and Nico alone in the dungeon. Bellatrix walked up to Nico and leaned over him. "Aww... is the little baby in pain, hmm?"

Nico glared at her with disgust. "Go to tartarus."

Bellatrix put her had tenderly on the side of Nico's face. "Oh, you'll regret that."

Luna felt a strange pang of... jealousy? That couldn't be right... that made no sense...

Yet as Luna looked at that hand that touched Nico, she felt like ripping it off.

Nico shook off Bellatrix's hand. "Aww," She said. "Don't want to play? Got some other girl?"

Nico glared at Bellatrix for a moment, then looked away. "Everyone I love is far from your reach. There's nothing you can do to me that would break me."

Bellatrix grinned. "Well, I'll make sure to inform your little Lovegood of your feelings _personally._"

Nico snarled, and shot up from his knees, making Bellatrix scramble back wards. Nico's eyes were so furious they looked like they held the fires of hell. "Touch her, and I will make sure your soul burns for ETERNITY."

It took a second for Luna to understand what he had said a moment ago.

_Nico... Nico loves me?_

Bellatrix smiled. "Ah... you really do love her, don't you? A shame... that true love must be cut so short." Bellatrix cackled. "I won't touch her, but I will make sure she knows how painful your death was."

Bellatrix whipped out her hand, and Nico gasped. A knife hilt seemed to sprout out of Nico's shoulder.

Luna's heart felt like it was being torn apart.

Nico fell to one knee, gasping for breath. Bellatrix stood back up, drawing her wand from her pocket.

Nico, shaking, turned his head, grasped the knife in his teeth-

And tore it out. It clattered to the floor, covered in blood.

Bellatrix looked surprised, then perversely excited. "Ooh... you're a fiesty one. This will be fun!"

Luna's vision began to darken. She saw Bellatrix raise her wand, almost lovingly, and point it at Nico.

"_Crucio!"_ She shouted.

As Luna's world turned black, the last thing she heard was Nico's scream.


	17. Magical Essence

Luna shot up strait. "NICO!" She cried, startling Madam Pomfrey so much she dropped the tray she was carrying with a crash. "Good heavens, dear, you almost gave me a heart attack."

Luna looked around desperately, her eyes wild. "Where am I? What happened? Where's Nico?"

Madame Pomfrey walked quickly to Luna and began to check her health, but Luna brushed her off. Luna looked directly into Madame Pomfrey's eyes. "Where. Is. Nico."

Madame Pomfrey drew back, her expression grim. "I'm sorry, my child. Your friend... well, he seems to have disappeared." She moved away quickly, and Luna saw that there was something Madame Pomfrey wasn't telling her.

Luna suddenly remembered what had happened just before she'd blacked out.

Nico had summoned a bunch of skeletons with his sword, and then Crabbe had... had...

Crabbe had killed her. He'd cast _Avada Kedavra_. She should've been dead.

"Yes, child. You should've been dead. Instead, you were taken captive by our enemies." Hecate whispered in Luna's mind. "Nico did not take this well. His fury and grief were great enough that he decided to unleash the aspect of death within himself to kill those who took you from him, a very dangerous choice as he could've been absorbed by the spirit of death and cease to exist. Still, he became a force his enemies could not hope to match."

"Then... how was he captured?" Luna asked.

"Well... Nico destroyed the entire attacking force, but the one who captured you offered a trade, your life for his."

Luna's world seemed to shift. "Why? Why would he..."

"It would seem... the foolish boy has fallen in love with you."

Luna felt dizzy. "But... but..."

"If you truly wish to save him, accept my blessing. It is the only way."

"No." Luna said. "No. NO. I will NEVER accept you."

Hecate sighed, but her voice held no grief. "I'm afraid not. Either accept my blessing, or you can leave Nico to be tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. Your choice."

Luna felt numb inside. It was a terrible choice, between leaving Nico to be tortured or accepting the woman who was responsible for her mother's death.

"No. There has to be another way."

Hecate chuckled. "Fine. Deny my blessing all you want. You'll soon see that no one else is keen on helping Nico."

Luna got up off the bed. Madame Pomfrey immediately rushed over. "Get back in bed. You need rest!"

Luna stared back at her, her eyes defiant. "I'm fine. I need to talk to Dumbledore."

Madame Pomfrey eyed her suspiciousy. "And why is that?"

"Please. It's very important." Luna held Madame Pomfrey's gaze. "Nico's in trouble."

Madame Pomfrey sighed. "My dear girl," She began, when she was suddenly interrupted by the door slamming open.

Dumbledore strode in, his eyes blazing. His gaze fell on Luna. "Miss Lovegood, we have much to discuss. Madame Pomfrey, please leave us.

Madame Pomfrey looked confused, but left the room. Dumbledore eyed Luna angrily.

"Did Nico ever do or say anything suspicious, anything at all?" Dumbledore asked.

Luna cocked her head. "What do you mean? Why would Nico be suspicious?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Did he ever say where he lived? Anyone he knew?"

Luna frowned. "What's happened?"

Dumbledore looked down for a moment, and Luna realized that Dumbledore looked shaken.

"When I returned to Hogwarts, the great hall was burning, and there were bodies... so many bodies littering the ground. The hall was ruined, and the only untouched thing in the hall was you. There was so much blood..." Dumbledore looked back up at Luna. "We have eyewitness reports of Nico di Angelo massacring the Death eaters in the dozens, and raising their corpses. This boy is a far darker wizard than I have ever seen before."

Luna realized now what Hecate had meant. "No, that's not true! Please, listen to me, Nico is in trouble! He's been captured by Voldemort! He saved our lives, we have to help him!"

Dumbledore frowned. "I understand that he was your friend, but this boy is evil and powerful. He killed almost a hundred people without showing any remorse."

"He was protecting us!" Luna said pleadingly. "He's not evil!"

Dumbledore turned away. "He may not seem evil, but the magic he uses is inherently evil. Controlling bodies like that... it's against the nature of the world. It should never be attempted."

Luna's hopes faded. There would be no help from Dumbledore. "Nico is being held in a cellar. I have no idea where."

Dumbledore looked more interested. "Do you remember any details about it? Anything at all?"

Luna looked back up at him, defiance in her eyes. "I won't let you hurt him."

Dumbledore frowned. "Why were you in the great hall in the first place?" He asked suspiciously.

Luna avoided his eyes. "I was... captured. They used me to get Nico to surrender."

Dumbledore looked confused. "Why did they release you?"

Luna looked back at Dumbledore. She could see suspicion in his eyes. "I..."

Professor Mcgonagall rushed through the door. "Professor Dumbledore! The Minister is here. He wants to know what happened."

Dumbledore glanced back over at Luna. "We will talk more later." Dumbledore and Mcgonagall turned and left Luna standing, alone, in the hospital wing.

Hecate suddenly appeared in front of her. "Ready to accept my help?" She said, the hint of a smile at the corners of her lips.

Luna turned away, hugging herself. "No. I'll never trust you." Luna's voice shook. "Not after what you did to my mother."

Hecate sighed. "Luna... that's not entirely true."

Luna turned back to face Hecate, tears running down her face. "You were in her lab! You could've stopped the explosion!"

Hecate refused meet her eyes. "No, I... I couldn't... I... the fates decreed that she must die." Her argument sounded fake to Luna.

She looked back at Luna, and she looked strangely nervous. She took a deep breath, and then continued. "What I mean is, well, your mother didn't die in that lab, because... technically... I'm your mother."

Luna's mind went blank. Hecate... no... Hecate couldn't be..."

"Let me explain." Hecate said hurriedly. "Your father and the woman who you knew as your mother were both magicians that I favored. They were magically gifted and imaginative, and showed kindness to creatures of magic. They lived a good life together, but they longed to have a child, and unfortunately they were physically incapable of doing so. I decided to gift them with the thing they most wanted: so I made you. I took the essence of your parents and combined them with some of my own and used my magic to create you. I made you with the hope to create a superior magical being, combining the magical essence of your parents with powers of my children and my blessing. You would've been the greatest of my creations, able to serve as my avatar, my high priestess."

Luna was slowly shaking her head. "No. NO. I'm not... you're not..."

Hecate smiled sadly. "Your mother did not want you to be my lieutenant. When she found out, she refused my blessing, and so took away that magical power which I had given you. Now, though, you can become the most powerful wielder of magic in existence, aside from me, of course. You can be my prophet, my high priestess to this world. All you have to do is accept my blessing."

Luna shook. "My mom resisted you, and y-you let her die. Now you're asking me to accept you, to serve you?"

Hecate frowned. "It is your only option if you want to save Nico."

Luna flinched. "You made this happen, didn't you? You wanted to force me to do this."

Hecate sighed. "I suppose you'll never trust me, will you?"

Luna turned away.

"You know..." Hecate began. " It's your fault that he's being tortured. If you don't help him, no one will. The only way you will be powerful enough to rescue him is if you accept my blessing."

Luna doubled over as if she was in pain. "Why- why are you doing this?"

Hecate's expression darkened. "Every major god has their own realm. I wanted one for my own, to increase my standing among the gods. It went well at first, but then I began to lose control. My priests were mocked, my temples defiled, all because the race I had created had the hubris to believe that the gods were dead, that those who worshipped them were fools. I had no power in my own realm, because I was foolish enough to believe that my people would stay reverent. Wizards, of course, think themselves gods."

Hecate smiled. "Now you are here, and if you choose to accept my blessing, then I will finally regain control of my realm."

Luna turned around, her eyes red. Hecate smiled. "And you would do anything to save him, wouldn't you?"

Luna looked at her feet. She thought about Nico. The last half-year had been one of the best of her life, having a friend who really wanted to be around her. She felt like she knew him more than she knew herself, and she realized that, somewhere along the line, after saving each other again and again... she had fallen in love with him. Luna realized that there was nothing she wouldn't do to save him.

She raised her head, resigned to the task. "You... you're sure that this will allow me to save him?" She asked.

Hecate grinned. "Oh of course, dear. You don't think I'd betray my most powerful asset. If you accept my blessing, you will be powerful enough to take on Voldemort himself."

Luna closed her eyes. "Alright. Fine. I accept your blessing."

Suddenly, Luna could feel the world around her. She could sense every piece of magic in this room, could comprehend their use, and she felt that with the touch of a fingertip she could change them or unravel them. She gasped and opened her eyes, and she could feel all around her the presence of magic. She looked at her hand, and saw her skin was glowing faintly. She felt so awake, so natural, she had to laugh in excitement, forgetting a moment about the dire circumstances that had brought her to this.

Hecate beamed at her. "Wonderful, Luna! I felt your power spike! You are so powerful, now... try this." Hecate held out her hand, and suddenly flames danced across it. Then she closed her hand, and the fire was extinguished.

"It's easy, just will the fire to be there, and it is."

Luna held her hand, palm up, and willed the fire to appear. Suddenly her hand blazed with golden fire, and Luna quickly made a fist to banish it.

Luna looked back at Hecate. "Thank you, I suppose. I can will anything to happen?"

"It's not exactly that simple. I believe you are now able to sense and understand magic and magical items, and manipulate it to your desire. Manipulation of mundane items is easier than manipulation of magical items, and manipulation of smaller items is easier than manipulation of bigger items. For instance," Hecate motioned to the room they were in. "Trying to manipulate this castle would kill you. By manipulation, by the way, I mean to shift the position of an object or to magically alter it. You should also be a master instinctually of all schools of magic, barring prophesy, as that is a skill I don't think you'd want and so did not include when I created you."

Hecate looked at her arm, and suddenly a watch appeared. "Oh, it looks like you should really be heading off to save your boyfriend. As far as finding where he is, I suggest you interrogate Draco Malfoy. It should be easy enough to do at your current power level. Transportation shouldn't be a problem, as your apparition will be instinctual and very easy. Have fun!"

Hecate disappeared. Luna felt numb, with shock and excitement. Then, suddenly, Hecate reappeared.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Due to an unfortunate prophecy, you aren't allowed to kill Voldemort. Everyone else is fair game, though. Bye!"

Hecate disappeared again, and after a moment, Luna walked purposely out of the Hospital wing.


	18. Luna's Rescue

Luna strode quickly down the hallways, reveling in the power thrumming through her veins, even with the guilt she felt for accepting Hecate. She had no idea what she was going to tell her dad...

_No. Focus on Nico. You did this to save Nico._

As she passed by the great hall, Luna smelled fire. She glanced inside the door.

The great hall had been cleaned up for the most part, but the walls were still as scorched as Dumbledore had said, and there was a giant column of rock that had smashed through the floor. Several Aurors stood around the room, talking anxiously as they worked to magically repair the damage. The floor was lined with many white cloth rectangles that Luna realized were probably covering bodies.

As Luna turned back to walk down the hall, her eyes locked with a person who had just appeared at the end of the hallway, and Luna started. "Draco Malfoy. I was just looking for you."

Malfoy stopped. His face turned white. "N-no, y-you're dead!" Malfoy turned and tried to run away. Luna reached out her hand, and Malfoy's shoes turned to granite. He yelped, tripping and falling on his face.

Luna calmly walked to Malfoy, as he struggled to drag himself foreword. "Where's Nico?" She asked calmly.

Malfoy ignored her. "I said, WHERE IS NICO?" she placed her heel on his neck. Suddenly, she realized she was dressed only in a hospital wing shift. She frowned, and with a thought, her shift morphed into a short white dress and gold leggings. White trainers appeared on her feet, and her trademark turnip earrings appeared on her ears. Happy with her clothes, Luna smiled for a moment, and then went back to interrogating Draco, who looked extremely alarmed.

Draco squirmed. "I don't know! Please, I don't know!"

"Well, where do you think they took him? So help me, Draco Malfoy-"

For a moment, her fear and anger overwhelmed her so much that her fists suddenly burst into green flames. Alarmed, she quickly calmed herself and the flames dissipated.

Malfoy's mouth opened and closed, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Tell me anything you know." Luna said, forcefully.

"I...I can't..." Malfoy looked on the verge of tears. "He-he'll kill me... he'll kill my family."

Luna was taken aback. She took her foot off Malfoy's throat. "Well... I..." She thought for a moment. "Okay. Tell me what I need to know, and I promise you I will do what I can to get you and your family to safety. Deal?"

Malfoy sneered, but his heart wasn't in it. "What could you possibly do?"

"You'd be surprised." Luna's voice sounded a hundred times more confident than she felt.

Malfoy deflated. "...Alright. They... they're... they're at my house."

"What?" Luna said. She'd known the Malfoys were supporters of Voldemort, but to actually let him live in your house...

"OK, where is your house?" Luna asked.

Malfoy sneered. "It's in Wiltshire. You'll never get there in time."

Luna smiled distractedly. "It's not a problem. How will I find it?"

"Believe me, you'll know it when you see it."

Luna nodded at Malfoy. "Thank you, Draco Malfoy." She turned away from Malfoy and began to run to the entrance hall.

When she reached it, she stopped to catch her breath. Two ministry wizards stood guard at the front doors.

Luna thought for a moment, and then flicked out her hand.

The guards shouted with alarm as a devilish looking death eater sprinted across the room. As they sprinted after her illusion, Luna quietly slipped out of the front gates.

As she sprinted towards the magical boundaries, she only had one thought.

_I'm coming, Nico._

She felt herself pass through the magical umbrella, and for a moment she stood just outside the gates of Hogwarts, which had proven very easy to open. Unsure what to do, she imagined herself apparating to Wiltshire, but nothing happened. She panicked for a moment, but then she had an idea.

She carefully reached out her mind to find the magical presences she wanted.

'_Thestrals, your lord is in danger. Help me rescue him.'_

Less than a minute later, Luna was flying swiftly towards Wiltshire on the back of a large thestral. Luna felt Nico grow closer and closer.

_Hold on, Nico. I'm coming._

* * *

Voldemort was very annoyed. This, understandably, made every other person at the long table extremely nervous. "Are you really telling me that we have less than a hundred death eaters left _in all of BRITAIN!?_"

The young Death Eater cowered. "Well, my lord, we are still recruiting more members, and older ones come back every day-"

Voldemort growled. "That boy will pay for this. Fine. Get out of my sight!"

The young death eater scrambled out of the room. All down the table, people let out sighs of relief.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Every person in the room stared at it, surprised.

It opened, and a young girl with messy blond hair stuck her head through the doorway. "Oh, hello. I was looking for my friend Nico. Have you seen him anywhere?" She said, in a vaguely dreamy voice.

The room was silent.

Luna frowned. "Oh, don't you all get up to help." Then she smiled as if she made a joke. She reached out her hand.

Suddenly, the wooden chair arms and legs wrapped around their occupants, trapping them in their seats.

* * *

"Bye!" Luna grinned, then closed the door, cutting off the alarmed cries of the death eaters.

Luna turned around and glanced quickly around the room. Her gaze landed on a door on the far side of the room.

Quickly, she strode to it, and carefully opened it. A steep stairway lead down to a room that Luna recognized immediately. She had seen it in her dreams.

Luna practically flew down the stairs. "Nico! Nico, I've come to get you ou-"

Luna's heart stopped.

The body hung limply from the bronze chains that bound its arms. It had been stabbed in both shoulders, and there was a long, curved cut across its stomach, reminding Luna ridiculously of a smiley face. Blood pooled at the ground beneath it, staining its black jeans maroon.

Luna's heart felt like it was about to shatter into pieces. "N-n-nico?"

Nico raised his head, and Luna's heart leapt.

Then she saw his face, and it fell crashing down.

Nico resembled the joker... if the joker's smile had been cut into his face. When his eyes met Luna's, she saw nothing of the Nico she'd known before.

Nico started to speak, and blood came out of his cheeks, dripping down Nico's chalk white face. "S-s-she told me to smile... I... she m-m-made me s-s-s-smile..."

Luna felt stuck to the ground, her legs as heavy as mountains.

She couldn't be too late. She couldn't. No. NO.

Behind her, someone cackled gleefully. The door slammed shut.

"What do we have here? Is the little girl coming to rescue her poor little friend?" They cackled again.

"Bellatrix." Luna's horror turned swiftly to rage. She turned to face her enemy, and she felt more anger than she thought possible.

Bellatrix stood, pointing her wand at Luna's face. In her other hand, she held the knife that had cut Nico.

"We're going to have a lot of fun." Bellatrix said.

Luna trembled with fury. Her fists clenched, and Bellatrix's cackles turned suddenly to shrieks of pain as an invisible force crushed her wrist. Bellatrix fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

Luna turned to Nico, and she had an idea... a terrible, yet just, idea.

With a flick of her wrist, Luna sent Bellatrix skidding along the floor towards Nico, sending her knife and wand clattering across the floor.

Luna gently placed her hand on Nico's forehead. With her other hand, she gripped Bellatrix's face.

"What are you doing?" Bellatrix screamed.

Luna glared at her vengefully. "Putting a smile on your face."

Luna let the magic flow through her veins, and Nico began to change. Luna felt all of his pain begin to flow through her.

Nico's wounds slowly began to close, all of his blood flowing back into his body. As Nico's wounds closed, though, identical wounds began to open up on Bellatrix's body. She screamed and shook, clawing at Luna's arm with her good hand, but Luna held on, even when blood from Bellatrix's mouth began to soak her fingertips.

Finally, Luna felt Nico relax. Bellatrix stopped wailing and began to sob. Luna glanced back at her, and then shoved her away. Luna heard Bellatrix's head crack against the ground, but she didn't pay any attention to her.

Nico began to fall backwards, and Luna quickly moved to catch him. She cradled his head carefully. Suddenly, Nico drew in a breath, and blinked several times before really opening his eyes. "L-luna?"

Luna smiled, and suddenly felt a rush of relief. "Oh, Nico... do you remember anything?"

Nico frowned. "I surrendered to Kelli, and she took me back here. I was chained up, and Voldemort came, and then Bellatrix-" Nico began to shake. "Oh g-gods, B-Bellatrix-"

"Shhh. It's okay, Nico. You're safe now." With a touch of her finger, the celestial bronze chains melted away, freeing Nico's arms.

Nico looked up at her, eyes full of fear. "Y-you have to get out of here! If she finds you-" He stopped. "Who's crying over there?"

Luna's expression darkened. "I... Nico, I..."

Nico sat up. His eyes widened as he saw Bellatrix writhing in pain. "Luna, what-"

Nico looked at Luna, who looked like she was on the edge of tears. "N-Nico... I gave her your pain. I saw what she did to you and I just felt so... angry, I..." Luna blinked away her tears. "Y-you understand... don't you?"

Nico stared at her for a moment, and Luna couldn't read his expression. Luna looked at her hands. "What... what have I... " Luna put her head in her hands. "I j-just felt so angry... so powerful..."

Nico reached forward and put his arms around her, feeling very awkward. "Hey, it's okay. Um, how did you do... that," Nico gestured to Bellatrix, "anyways?"

Luna looked up. "I... accepted a blessing from Hecate. She gave me this power... so that I could be her high priestess." Luna seemed to choke on her words. "Apparently I'm her... well... apparently she, well, created me out of my parents essence combined with hers." Luna's lip began to tremble.

Nico stared at her, surprised. "You mean you're a half-blood too?"

Luna smiled at him, weakly. "I... I suppose so."

Nico smiled back.

"You... little... bitch." Bellatrix ground out between gritted teeth. "I am going to cut and tear and burn you until you beg for me to kill you!"

Luna started to cry again. "I... I didn't mean..."

Nico frowned. "You caused all the pain you're feeling, Bellatrix. Shut up."

Nico hugged Luna close. "Hey, its okay, don't mind her."

"No... no it isn't. I don't want this. All this power... It's made me a monster!" Luna said, burying her head in Nico's shoulder.

"Don't say that, Luna, you aren't a monster!" Nico's voice was defiant. "Luna, I can summon skeletons and teleport through the shadows, and do you think I'm a monster?"

Luna frowned. "Well... no... but most of the other wizards do."

Nico rolled his eyes. "No offence, but wizards aren't really open-minded. At all." Nico smiled sadly. "You shouldn't worry about what other people think."

Luna pulled away a little. "But... what about my dad? My friends?

Nico put a hand on the side of Luna's face. Luna felt a little shock run down her body at his touch. "You've told me before about how much your dad loves you. He wouldn't abandon you just because you're magically powerful. As for your friends, well, if they turn their back on you over this, they probably aren't your friends."

Nico's expression darkened. "Not that I would really know."

Luna smiled at him, nervously. "You don't have any friends where you came from?"

Nico tried to look away, but her eyes held her fast. "I...uh... not really. I mean, sort of... I've got my cousin and his girlfriend, but they don't really trust me. Actually, my only real friend is... um... you." Nico took a deep breath. "So don't worry. Whatever happens, you'll still have me."

Luna's eyes twinkled, and a grin spread slowly across her face.

Nico looked up. "You know, maybe we should get out of he-"

Then the door slammed open, revealing a very angry Voldemort.


End file.
